Breakthrough
by Josh Shrimp
Summary: The story of an inkling with no natural skills and that wants to be a champion. They call him the worst but he dreams of being the best. He has a long hard road ahead of him, but with a good friend by his side, and good old trial and error he may just find his way.
1. Chain Reaction

The Sun's up again. A young inkling rises out of bed. He's feeling rather tense this morning, just like most mornings. He eats his breakfast wondering if he should go out today. As usual, he talks himself into it. He pulls on his lucky Takoroka Visor, and stares blankly into his closet. One item stands out. A Squid Satin Jacket that he's always despised. He wore it yesterday and the day before and the day before. Its primary ability was Respawn Punisher. An ability for weak players. It had become his uniform. Before he put it on, he always remembered the words he was told the day he was forced to buy it, "If all you're gonna do is get splat all day, the least you could do is make yourself useful." Biting his lip, he thought to himself, "I have to be useful."

He stood in the middle of Inkopolis Square, staring straight at the Lobby. He took a deep breath and walked forward with determination.  
"I got this."  
He caught the attention of a few loiterers as he made his way through the giant doors. They laughed. Someone always did.

The current Ranked Battle Mode was Rainmaker. He never liked this game because it was always over before he knew it. Regardless, he boldly entered the waiting room where 6 other players were sitting. They were gathered together in a group having a jovial conversation. The young inkling in the visor stood by the door hoping no one would notice him, but one of the other teens happen to look up at the players screen and saw a surprising name.  
"Neutral? Oh jeez! Looks like we have a 50/50 here today guys."  
One girl exclaimed in a comically exaggerated tone, "Oh no!"  
"Aww. Why did you have to walk in here?"  
Another girl was a little confused and asked for an explanation. One of her friends explained Neutrals special reputation to her.  
"He's the worst of the worst. EVERY team he's on, ALWAYS loses. This is the last thing I need today."  
One cool-looking inkling stood up, "Wait, wait. Guys, don't worry. I can fix this. I'll go talk to him."  
Neutral kept his gaze downward as the cool boy walked up to him and placed his hand on Neutral's shoulder.  
"Look, we all just wanted to have some fun today, okay. Just let off some steam. Do us a little favor and just leave."  
Neutral shook his head, unable to look him in the eyes.  
The cool-looking boy squeezed Neutral's shoulder tightly.  
"Are you serious? Can't you take a hint?!"  
Just then an 8th player walked in on the heated scene.  
The cool boy rolled his eyes.  
"Ugh! Too late."  
The match was beginning.

The stage was Port Mackerel. The cool boy and two other spawned on the same side as Neutral. All of them voiced annoyance at the situation. Neutral was armed with an Inkbrush. He liked this weapon because it made it easy to run. He put a lot of practice into this weapon, but just like all other weapons, he wasn't very skilled with it despite this. But at least with this, he wouldn't have to worry about missing all of his shots. Still, it's not like he ever splat something besides a practice dummy with an Inkbrush anyway.

Neutral had it all planned out. He may not be a fighting asset, but at the very least he could make a trail for his team straight towards the center. After that he would just circle around the area inking as much as he could before getting splat.

The match started and Neutral rocketed out of the spawn point with two other running beside him, until they were suddenly halted. The cool boy had something to say.  
"Wait! Stop! Listen guys. Haven't we already lost? Do we even have to play? I'm just gonna quit. This is pointless. If you're smart, you'll do the same."  
In the next moment, the cool boy disappeared. The other two besides Neutral looked at each other.  
Neutral tried to call out to them, "Wait, we can still-"  
Before another one disappeared.  
The last one told him "Sorry." before she left as well.  
Neutral thought to himself, "Is this what it's come to?"  
But he paused for only an instant, and immediately left to attack the Rainmaker on his own. The match had only just begun.

Neutral made his way to the Rainmaker as quickly as he could. He thought it was strange that the other team hadn't already taken it. It seems as though they had noticed that most of his team had dropped out. The only one left was basically worth less than no one. They were taking it easy. One was even attempting to draw his own face in ink on the floor. They had barely inked any of the ground and only one was making half an effort to break the Rainmaker's shield. Hardly what you'd call an intimidating team. Still, Neutral felt the pressure of facing all 4 of them. He was certain he'd be easily dealt with by just one. He wanted to run.

The one inkling barely trying to take the Rainmaker had finally managed to break the shield, and to Neutral's utter shock, he didn't take it. Instead, he walked over to a teammate to tell him he was going to go finish the match now.

Neutral was still afraid, but he saw a chance. With their backs turned, he zoomed forward and grabbed the Rainmaker.

The other team was stunned by their own incompetence and sprang into action to intercept Neutral.

One was immediately on his tail. Neutral knew that if he stopped to turn, he'd be caught, so instead he charged up the Rainmaker and fired it straight into the ground beneath him. His pursuer was so focused on catching Neutral that he ran straight into the blast.

Neutral almost let out a scream of joy. How many dozens of matches has it been since he actually splat someone? But this was no time to get emotional.

Neutral was sprinting right towards two more enemies. He didn't think he'd land a lucky shot a second time. Instead he fainted left, and shot off to the right. His two opponents realized their mistake and started firing at him, but he jumped and ducked, barely avoiding the streams of their attacks as he weaved through the containers. By some miracle he managed to dupe them for a few seconds. But he still had one very dangerous obstacle awaiting him.

His final foe wielded a Splat Charger and readied to snipe Neutral from above. Time felt like it stopped. The other team was pressing him into a corner. With enemies still on his back, he had no option but to move forward, straight towards a sniper. His whole body tingled as Neutral sensed the sniper's aim fall on him. It almost seemed like he could feel him slowly pulling the trigger, and almost entirely by instinct he dodged to the right as the blast narrowly missed him. But another shot was incoming. He had the strange feeling like he could sense the shot coming again, and jumped to the left, just over the trail of ink left by the first blast. The sniper only had time for one more shot before Neutral could break past him. But with the massive amount of ink covering his right side, and a wall to his left. Neutral had no room to dodge. He couldn't afford to slow down and fire back, believing he would likely miss anyway, and so he kept forcing his way forward. The final shot came and with nowhere to run, Neutral flopped to the ground as the shot flew over him. He struggled a bit to escape the ink but he leaped to safety, leaving all of his opponents behind him.

It was definitely going to be close, but his miraculous victory was in sight. He had the Rainmaker and the goal was almost close enough to touch. He only needed one little shot of ink to help him reach the top, but as he looked up, his heart stopped. Somehow he had forgotten. Maybe it was the adrenaline or just plain carelessness. The first pursuer that he defeated respawned right behind the goal and was now standing atop it. Neutral froze, all of the confidence drained out of him, as he simply stared up at him. He aimed his weapon at Neutral, and before he could even make a step back, Neutral was shot down.

Neutral returned to his Spawn. The other team had taken the Rainmaker. He stood despondent for a single moment. He clutched his brush tightly and ran to face the incoming force. He ran straight into a slaughter, wildly swinging before being swiftly taken out. He did this twice before it was over. The other team grasped complete victory. Neutral wasn't able to slow down their advance in the slightest. He had tasted defeat countless times, but this time hurt more than before because he had a feeling that it might be his last.

But Neutral had no way of knowing that a shining figure in Power Armor was watching his match from afar, and he only had one thing to say, "Wow."


	2. Big Steps

Neutral didn't have it in him to try another match, at least not immediately. He needed to be alone. Neutral found an empty alley by the Lobby to crawl into. Once he realized no one was watching, he collapsed onto the ground. He rested his head against a wall and found he couldn't fight back the tears anymore. It wasn't the loss that hit him so hard, he was used to being a loser, but the way his whole team abandoned him made him feel like he was worthless. And he blew his only chance to prove them all wrong. It turns out they were right about him the whole time. He came so close, but "Of course I couldn't pull it off. I'm me." The result was obvious right from the beginning, just like the other boy said. Why did he even try? It's always been so obvious that no one wanted him. He was only making things hard on his team. They'll all be happier if he just quits. If everyone is just going to quit because of him, he might as well give in as well.

Neutral walked over to a dirty trash bin, and took off his visor. He held it over the bin, clenching his teeth. In the end, he put his visor back on and put a lid on the bin.  
"I can't do it. Quitting's too hard. I just love battles too much. I'll find a way, even if it's impossible."  
He sniffled hard and readied himself to reenter the Lobby.

But as Neutral tried to exit the alley, he bumped into an intimidating man. He wasn't much bigger than Neutral, but somehow he stood so much taller. Neutral avoided eye contact, "Sorry, I was just leaving."  
Neutral tried to maneuver around him, but the man sidestepped to intercept him. Neutral could see this man was trouble and tried to think of an excuse to quickly escape him.  
"I really need to go, I gotta-"  
"Hang on a sec, I got something to say to you."

Neutral relaxed and took a step back. He could tell the man wasn't going to let him slip away so easily. So Neutral started moving slowly to the right of the man, and then he instantly switched directions to try to escape on the man's left. He hoped this faint would throw him off. The man was surprised, the motion was so smooth that it almost looked like Neutral was still walking to the right. But before he could break past the man, Neutral found himself crashing backwards onto the floor. Even though the faint had worked, the man's reflexes were quick enough to catch Neutral by the arm before he got away.

Neutral was stunned in terror by this menacing man, as he loomed over him. Neutral braced himself for a hit, but instead the man held his hand out to him, as if he were trying to help him up.  
"Sorry about that. Are you alright? I didn't mean to knock you down."  
Neutral hesitantly took his hand. As his eyes adjusted to the Sun shining down on him, he was finally able to get a clear look at his face. Upon realizing who he was, Neutral jumped to his feet and braced himself against a wall.  
"You! You're Knight!"

The man laughed as he scratched at his chin.  
"Yep. That's me. Didn't think you knew who I was."  
Neutral rapidly shook his head around.  
"No way. I wanna be just like you one day. You're like my hero."  
"I can't be that much older than you are now. There's no need to treat me like a role model. But with that said, are you saying you're aiming to be a rank S+ yourself one day?"  
Neutral's face flushed and he felt too embarrassed to stutter out a response.

Knight couldn't bear the awkward silence, minus the disturbing gurgling noise coming from Neutral, and so he spoke up.  
"Well then. Why don't I just cut to the chase? I decided to form an official League team, and I want you to join me."  
Neutral face went limp and his eyes lost focus. It was like this information was somehow impossible for Neutral's brain to process. Knight waved his hand in front of Neutral's face for a few seconds, and started to worry.  
"So…what do you think?"  
Neutral popped back into his senses.  
"T-That's impossible! I'm only a C- rank. I couldn't join you even if I wanted to."  
"I see. Well then I'll wait."  
"F-For me! That's crazy talk. In any case, someone like you can do way better."  
"Not the way I see it."

Neutral rubbed at his head nervously.  
"Why would you want someone like me on your team anyway? Not that I'm not super honored, but I'm not an incredible guy like you or anything."  
""Honored." That's a funny way of putting it. I saw your last match. The way you burst through that whole team on your own was inspiring. I'd say that was pretty incredible.  
Neutral gave a sort of sad smile.  
"I only got past them all because they were all C- beginners, and they didn't think I'd be stupid enough to try anything. And even then, I still lost miserably."  
"But you still gave it a shot. I don't think a lot of people would try that in that situation. To me that's still amazing. At any rate, unless you've got another team lined up, I'm not taking "no" for an answer."  
"As if there'd be another team. Sorry. No matter what you say, in the first place, making it to B- in Rainmaker just seems impossible for me. And if I can't at least do that, I can't play in the League."  
"Rainmaker? I expect you to make at least B- in all the categories. We wouldn't be a proper team otherwise."  
"That's even more impossible! Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to just escape C-? I haven't made a shred of progress."  
"Impossible, huh? Then why did it look like you were heading back into the Lobby to try again? Sounds to me like you don't let small things like "impossible" stop you."  
Neutral tried to walk away, but Knight stopped him again. He could see that Neutral was tightening his fists, like he was holding himself back. Knight tried to give him one final push.  
"If you really don't want to join me, then that's fine. I'll back off, but you better not be thinking you're sparing me any trouble. I want to team up with you. I hope that's absolutely clear. Answer me honestly. What do you want?!"  
Neutral gritted teeth and looked directly at Knight with fierce eyes.  
"I wanna be the best in the world!"  
Knight was taken aback by this, but now he had a massive grin on his face.  
"Then let's do this!"  
"Fine!"

After his eruption, the color quickly drained from Neutral's. He couldn't believe he would say something so irresponsible. He wished he could take it back somehow.  
Knight patted him on the arm.  
"You better get back in there then. Don't keep me waiting for too long now, partner."  
Neutral stiltedly moved towards the Lobby, secretly hoping this was all a strangely lucid dream, as Knight happily waved as he walked away.


	3. Fresh Start

Neutral was dealing with an upset stomach. He spent the whole morning getting torn apart in matches, with most of the games beginning with his teammates immediately abandoning him. He didn't mind being persistent, but clearly this wasn't working. Neutral felt more pressure than ever because now he wasn't wasting just his own time, but Knight's as well. He decided it was time to make some major changes. He needed to take this time to think more critically about himself, and figured the rest of today was better spent on contemplation than fighting.

He returned home, and headed for his desk to find a notebook and pencil. On the way, he passed a mirror. He saw himself wearing his usual jacket. His loser jacket. He thought it must be hard on Knight to believe in someone that doesn't even believe in himself. If he was seriously thinking of joining Knight, he needed to throw his old self away and find a new identity. The Squid Satin Jacket had seen its last day. As he tossed the old jacket out, a new idea donned on him. Throwing away his old identity. Not like he had anything to lose.

The next morning a group of squids headed into the Lobby. Inside the waiting room, they found a boy sitting alone. The register showed his name was Neub, Level 12 C-.  
"He must not be very good."  
Still, they thought it'd be rude to not acknowledge him. They gathered around him and exchanged a few pleasantries. He seemed oddly nervous, but when a crowd of strangers that all know each other approach you, that's probably normal. They tried asking him a few things, but he kept all of his answers brief, and they assumed he wasn't interested in talking. Eventually the room was filled and the game began.

Neub was armed with a Splattershot Jr., and thought to himself, "Back to basics." He positioned himself in a safe place right away, not noticing a teammate sneaky up behind him. The teammate tapped Neub on the head, nearly making him scream out in surprise. He wanted to strategize with Neub.  
"You see that guy down there. We can 2 on 1 him. You with me?"  
Neub nodded with a forced smile.  
The teammate immediately jumped down.  
"Let's go!"  
But he was flabbergasted to see that Neub wasn't following, but rather he was running the other way.  
"Wait, don't leave me behind! You coward! Aaack!"

The match continued in this fashion, with complaints from Neub's teammates piling up.  
"Man that guy's so weak."  
"But doesn't he look familiar somehow."  
Neub sweat profusely as he repeated a mantra in his head, "Don't recognize me. Don't recognize me. Don't recognize me."

They ended up losing the match by a narrow margin. Neub tried to apologize to the teammate he had abandoned before, but he coldly ignored him. Neub felt he deserved that. But before Neub could start sulking, a familiar face came up to him.  
"Neutral, how's it going?"  
Neub was a little startled but glad to see him.  
"Knight! I'm fine. How are you?"  
"I see you're trying out some new equipment. That's good. But why a School Uniform? Just your thing?"  
"I always saw my old clothes as my uniform, and now that I've decided to wear something different, I guess this just seemed so appropriate."  
"It's great to see you're so committed to my offer, Neutral."  
"I'll need to do a lot more than this. By the way, please call me "Neub" from now on."  
"Uh, sure, but you do know that's an insult though, right?"  
"I kinda like. I think it suits me."  
"If you insist."  
"Thanks. Oh, I better get back to training. I'm behind enough as is."  
Knight waved as Neub scampered away. He was pleased to see his mood had brightened since yesterday.

Neub walked into Ammo Knights, and began talking to himself.  
"Splattershot Jr.'s no good. It was the same the last time I tried it. I panicked when I got too close to someone. The range is too short. The solution is obvious."  
Neub was excited for the next phase of his plan. He purchased a Splat Charger. Chargers have the greatest range of all the weapons. The wielders never have to worry about directly confronting an enemy. Plus to Neub, the coolest players on the field have always been snipers. He admired the way they stood so calmly, ready to take down anyone that crossed their path.

Neub took to the field once again. He knew all the best places to hide, and if there was one thing he knew how to do, it was how to run away when things got dicey. There was just one major hitch to this plan. Neub found a nice perch and had 3 perfect targets to choose from. He took aim, and fired. They never saw it coming. Unfortunately, as surprising as it may have been, a series of missed shots does very little to demoralize. After a few shots, the enemy team stormed the source of the blast, but Neub always barely escaped. Neub continued to miss shots even a typical amateur could have landed, managing to go the entire game without splatting a single opponent. He carried on like this for several more matches, hoping his aim would improve. It didn't. It was beginning to become very apparent that Chargers are no shortcut for weaklings. They required real skill. His aim would need to be at an even higher level than with other weapons. Neub worried if things continued like this, he'd wind up building his poor reputation all over again.

"I can't use short range weapons, and I can't aim with long range weapons. What am I supposed to do?"  
Neub started getting a nervous itch all over his body. He wished someone could give him the answer. And as luck would have it, he spotted Knight stepping out of the Lobby. Neub dashed straight up to him, nearly tackling him to the ground.  
"Knight, you gotta help me!"  
"Huh, what?! What happened?"  
Neub answered in a sobbing voice.  
"I don't know what to do."  
"What are you talking about? You were so much more enthusiastic this morning…"  
"I need tips! You're a top player, isn't there some kind of advice you can give me?"  
"Tips, huh? Umm. Hmm. Hit 'em as hard and as fast as you can and definitely splat them before they splat you."  
"…Is that seriously it?"  
"So you get it now?"  
"You play mostly on instinct, don't you?"  
"Maybe, not sure. Usually my body just reacts on its own."  
"You're advice doesn't help at all…"  
"Really? I think most squids could benefit from keeping these points in mind."  
"Never mind. I'll figure it out myself. I'll see you later."  
"Wait up. If you're trying to fight like me then don't. I have my talents and you have yours. It'd be a waste if you didn't use them to their full potential."  
"Yeah…gotcha."

Neub thought about what Knight told him.  
"I have talents? It's definitely not shooting. Maybe I should've asked."  
Unable to come up an answer, Neub decided to just enter another match. The current mode was Splat Zones. Just like previous matches, he immediately found a decent place to use his Splat Charger. He spotted an enemy player inking the splat zone from a safe place and took a shot at him. The enemy ran off before getting hit as usual. Neub was just about to chase after him when he realized something. The enemy just ran away from the objective. Why should he have to chase after him? Even if he doesn't hit his target, they'll still react to the shot. He waited for another target and tried to see if he could drive him off a second time. Neub's target did indeed stop inking the zone, but instead of running off, the second came straight after Neub. He stealthily escaped before he was found, but he also noticed something. The attacker was still looking for Neub even after he found a new hiding place. He tried this many more times. He always missed the shot, but the enemy always reacted to it. Sometimes they ran, sometimes they countered, but by this point he stopped waiting to see how they'd react and instead just took off after each shot. He was impossible to catch. Neub was only distracting them for a short time, but it looked like interrupting their focus was making it easier for his team to take over.

Neub continued to stay out of sight while taking potshots at enemies. He completely abandoned the idea of actually hitting and concentrated making shots that interfered with the other team's actions as often as possible. Near the end of the match, the other team started getting more comfortable with his sniping, as it became increasingly obvious that they weren't landing, but before Neub realized it, the match was over. It looked like his team was doing really well in the beginning, but the other team made a huge comeback near the end. Neub thought to himself that it was a real shame, but the result was totally expected. That is, until he actually saw the result and thought he might be losing his mind, because it almost looked like his team actually won.

Neub was so busy staring at this unbelievably miraculous outcome that he very nearly forgot to breathe. And soon after, another thing he couldn't believe happened. A teammate walked up to him and held up her hand to give Neub a high-five. Neub stared at her suspiciously thinking she must have just mistaken him for someone else. But, Neub didn't think there was anything wrong with accepting it anyway. She slapped his hand hard.  
"Nice job keeping them distracted. Next time try to hit something, but nice job. You had them spinning in so many circles, they hardly noticed the rest of us."  
It turned out that Neub may have been just annoying enough to win. Neub had energy he never felt before. His face was grinning so hard that it hurt, but he couldn't stop. Winning made him scream out loud and laugh like a madman. His teammates were even dancing, but he was too shy to join them. He was so caught up in winning for the very first time that he almost didn't notice that he also leveled up. Today he got his very first win, and now he was also a level 13. He couldn't wait to tell Knight.


	4. Made for Weaklings

Neub sat together with Knight as the two had lunch. Neub filling his partner in on new developments.  
"My meter's never been so full. It's amazing!"  
Knight wanted to comment aloud, "After just one win?" but he held himself back. Opting instead to answer without ruining Neub's mood.  
"Oh, that's…great. So you gonna get back out there?"  
"Nope."  
"Huh?! You're not satisfied with just his, are you?"  
"No, I'll be back, but I can't keep using a charger."  
"But you got your first win with it."  
"There's no need to be so sentimental. After all of that shooting, I just realized that I'm a lousy sniper, and I'll probably never improve enough to be a real asset."  
"So then you have a new idea?"  
"I don't, but it's not like using threats was a bad idea. It's just that there's not much point to a threat unless I bite someone eventually. Once they figure out I'm toothless, I may as well be removed from the game."  
"Where do you go from here?"  
"I just need to keep trying weapons until I figure out a use for one that suits me. I just wish there was a faster way."  
"Why not just ask Sheldon? He's a weapon's expert. I can still remember the day he talked me into the Octobrush. "This brush set is great for brushing up on your skills!" I've been using one ever since."  
"That's a…good story Knight. Maybe you're right. If anyone's bound to know weapons in and out, it's him. I'll go see if he'll talk to me."  
"Right now? Okay. I'll just finish your food then."  
"Cool. Later."

Neub burst into Ammo Knight in a dramatic fashion that Sheldon and the other local shopkeepers had gotten quite used to.  
"Sheldon!"  
"Hello, hello! What kind of weapon-"  
"I need insider information!"

"Could you please, please tell me a little more about your weapons?"  
"More? No one's ever asked for more. It's shameful to admit, but I have nothing prepared."  
"Nothing…"  
"Err..well…But I see that you've recently achieved level 13. That means you're ready for the Rapid Blaster, and I would love to tell you all about it."  
"Blaster? I dunno. I've tried using a blaster before. It didn't really suit me."  
"But you see, the Rapid Blaster features an improved rate of fire and reduced ink consumption."  
"But a Blaster's range is too short. I can't really get very close to enemies without… losing focus."  
"But unlike the Blaster, the Rapid Blaster isn't lacking in the range department."  
"Really?"  
"And you can reveal your opponents' positions to teammates with the Ink Mine!"  
"I've never used those before, but I can use them to help my teammates?"  
"If you're feeling reluctant, why not give her a test run? It's free."  
"Hnn. I've got nothing to lose."

Neub took the Rapid Blaster to the back of Ammo Knights and was taken aback by just how much greater the range of it was than the ordinary Blaster. He could easily shoot at enemies hiding on top of high locations. He was always interested in the Blaster's exploding shots as it meant he could hit a target even with poor aim, but the shots were easily side-stepped because of the Blaster's short range and slow fire rate. This wasn't an issue for the quicker and farther-shooting variation. And then there were those Ink Mines. They didn't have much punch to them, but they made it easier for allies to take down enemies, and they can easily be used without having to confront the enemy directly. To sum up, it's a weapon set that allows a player to fight without putting themselves in danger, and can take down enemies even if the user has horrible aim. Neub came to one very serious conclusion.  
"This is the ultimate weapon for weaklings!"  
Neub pawed at the weapon as his hands tremored.  
"Does everyone else know about this? Why haven't I seen anyone use it more often? No, no. Maybe it's not as good in an actual game. I shouldn't rush to conclusions."  
Neub dashed up to Sheldon and slammed his money onto the counter.  
"I'll take it!"  
"Would you like to equip-"  
Before Sheldon could finish speaking, Neub was already out the door and in the Lobby. Sheldon stood alone slightly befuddled.  
"Thank you."

Neub began a new match feeling apprehensive.  
"Maybe it won't be as easy to hit real players as it was to hit practice dummies. But I did hit a lot more dummies than usual."  
The location was Starfish Mainstage, and the game was Tower Control. Neub's team reached the tower slower than the other side, and so the tower was already in enemy control. Neub couldn't see anyone on the tower as it moved toward him, but knew that player's liked to hide atop it in squid form. He decided to fire a few shot at the top of the tower, hoping to chase off any possible concealed foes. He could tell he hit something and chose to keep firing. To his utter astonishment, Neub actually splat someone. Barely 10 seconds into the game and he managed to splat someone. What auspicious luck he was having. But even more incredible was the fact that Neub never even saw who he was shooting at. Neub naturally saw a lot of potential in the Blaster's exploding shots, but never stopped to consider that it had the power to shoot someone behind cover. This warranted more experimentation.

About a minute later, Neub splat another enemy.  
He was only firing as a threat at first, but Neub landed a lucky direct first shot, and the explosion from the second shot finished off his target even after he ducked behind a wall.  
"Is this really happening? I've already matched my all-time splat record, and the match isn't even half over yet."  
With no allies around, Neub took the chance to take the tower back himself. But seconds after, he spotted 2 enemies incoming. He technically had the high ground, so he thought he ought to give fighting them off a shot. One had a roller, the other had dualies, and they stayed packed pretty close together. He thought it'd best to fight them while they still had some distance. Neub fired wildly at the pair as they zigzagged around the floor in front of the stage. He wasn't landing any direct hits, but thanks to the Blaster's blast radius, they were still taking damage. The pair made one last desperate lunge at Neub instead of running, but Neub launched one final shot between them, blowing away both at the same time.  
Neub's jaw dropped open. He thought maybe, MAYBE, he might get one. Taking out both seemed like an impossibility, but he did it. With the Blaster, he didn't have to fight enemies one at a time. If they came in groups, he could strike multiple enemies at once. Neub was beginning to feel like an effective player, like he could reasonably handle anything that came his way. He had rapidly discovered new possibilities for his weapon, but Neub was unaware that he was about to make a different kind of discovery.  
Neub was so focused on the players in front of him that he wasn't watching his back. He realized his mistake as a spray of ink flew past has head from behind. Neub immediately leap from the tower and turned to face the enemy. After easily dispatching two others moments before, Neub was confident he could handle one more. The enemy was closer than the others but Neub had plenty of time to shoot him down. He fired at the enemy several times, but the swift foe dodged the attack with ease. Something was wrong. This was different than before. Neub's instincts told him to run, but he thought if he could focus he might hit him. The enemy was now in range to attack Neub and all of Neub's attacks continued to miss. Finally, Neub understood why he was having difficulties. The Rapid Blaster's shots only explode at maximum distance. The enemy was so close that Neub's shots popped far behind his enemy. He was well out of harm's way, but Neub was not. Only a direct hit would stop him, and Neub didn't have that kind of aim, certainly not in this situation. The enemy rushed forward, crushed Neub, and took the tower.

Now that the battle had ended and Neub was recovering in the Spawn, he could think more clearly. The Rapid Blaster couldn't handle close encounters. He should've put some distance between him and his opponent the second he saw him instead of standing his ground. Neub would've naturally done that anyway if he hadn't been so high on a few lousy splats. At any rate, a greater understanding of his weaknesses and how to counteract them was still a gain well worth losing the tower. But he'd better try and go take it back anyway.

The tower was now being guarded by the same inkling equipped with a Splattershot from before, assisted by a Jet Squelcher user. They both stood on the tower spraying wildly in every direction as they moved. Neub thought this was a good opportunity to get another 2 in 1 splat. This time, he made sure to keep a good distance. Just far enough to strike most effectively, and he sprung into his attack. He fired at the tower's head, and one of the enemies took cover, but the other, armed with the Jet Squelcher backed away slightly and fired back. Neub fired at him fruitlessly, as he moved just out of his range. Neub considered moving forward, but before he could he was pelted with a counterattack. He was blinded by ink and Neub was splat before he could even consider giving chase.

Neub cursed his own stupidity for not realizing such an obvious possibility. Although the Rapid Blaster allowed him to fight safely out of range of most attacks, he was vulnerable to weapons with a longer range. This was a troubling realization as it meant Neub couldn't fight against long-ranged fighters in addition to short ranged fighters. It was like being pinched from both sides. But this wasn't the end. Neub might be weak, but he was certain the Rapid Blaster was strong. He was only fumbling in the dark before, but now it was clear. The answer was distance. He had to find the perfect distance. If he could just find a way to stay in the zone that wasn't too far or too close, the Rapid Blaster would be unbeatable.

Neub set to work finding this perfect distance using the rest of the match time. In the remaining time he had many more encounters with enemies. A few times, he would easily gain victory, but in most other instances it was like he was helpless. Occasionally he dropped an Ink Mine or two just to get the general concept of their use, but his main focus was gaining the skill to properly use the Rapid Blaster. He fought steadily in this fashion until the enemy team finally brought the tower to the goal.

He lost this match, but this time Neub didn't feel like a loser, because as the fighting went on, Neub could tell he was getting stronger. He felt inspired. He hadn't quite gained proficiency in this one battle, but a small part of Neub told him that for this strange weapon that makes even weak squids capable of fighting, mastery might just be within his grasp.


	5. Crawl Upward

Neub was circling an empty Moray Towers, shooting his Rapid Blaster at an imagined target for the hundredth time. He dodged and took cover from nothing, and always made sure to fire back. After running out of ink, he swam up to the perch of his fantasy foe and observed the ground discerningly.

"Not deep enough."

It would seem most of his attacks wouldn't have reached if he had been fighting an actual squid. A few would have even been overshot. The blast had to explode at exactly the point he intended. He needed more practice. But there was some good news. Neub figured out that for all the places snipers generally like to station themselves, there were also spots the perfect distance away he could safely fire his blaster from. If he merely memorized the spots, he could get by without being a perfect judge of distance for now. Still he didn't like being so predictable.

It was funny. He always knew he had the option to Scout out a field, but he never took advantage of it. It seemed like hardly anyone ever did. A little solo practice would have benefitted him no matter what weapon he used. He wanted to believe so hard that things would change on their own if he just trudged through the days that making a real difference in his routine had never occurred to him.

He used to spend his time praying for success, but now he used the time before a match to work on his technique. What pushed him to this? Dragging down a player like Knight seemed almost criminal, but Neub thought that maybe he was trying harder than before because Knight thought he could be a great player. He's the kind of guy it's hard not to take seriously. It was a nice feeling, and Neub wanted to hold onto it, even for just a little longer.

That was about enough for a rehearsal. There was plenty he couldn't do properly in a Scout. It was time for his match.

The game type currently running was Rainmaker. He could never tell before when all his matches ended in less than a minute, but he was finding that Rainmaker was the most hectic match type available in Ranked. Players utilized the whole field. Their paths were completely unpredictable. Sometimes they'd even use a strategic suicide, a concept he had difficulty fathoming the first time he witnessed it. The stage was Moray Towers. It was fortunate he could put his training into action while it was still fresh in his mind.

Neub stopped going straight for the Rainmaker at the start of the battle like he used to. He understood very well now that standing in the center attacking the target made him a very easy target, and he didn't have the skill to survive a surprise attack. It was better to pick off other players standing out in the open after they exhausted their ink breaking down the Rainmaker's barrier.

He succeeded in taking out one enemy. He wandered a little too close to Neub's side of the field and he went down with little resistance. His dualies didn't even have the range to hit Neub, still up on the tower ledge. Nevertheless, his teammates were persistent. They successfully broke down the barrier and took the Rainmaker for their team. Two of Neub's allies were caught in the explosion and splat. The remaining one managed to shoot down one enemy before being defeated himself. That left Neub alone against one roller user and the inkling holding the Rainmaker. Neub tried to aim for the Rainmaker as his highest priority, losing himself a bit in the panic, but the enemy had plenty of ink to swim through and was speedily making his way towards the goal. Neub hadn't quite gotten a perfect handle on measuring the perfect attack distance just yet, but it was even worse against a moving target. It was hard enough to know exactly how far away they were from himself, but he had to predict where they were going as well. But there was no better place to practice hitting a mobile enemy than in a real battle. He wouldn't waste the opportunity.

Neub managed to hit him indirectly twice before the foe escaped to a higher level. He failed, but he had more worry about. The roller user was now very aware of Neub's presence and she couldn't allow him to pursue her teammate aiming for the goal. The roller user rushed right up to Neub's position, confident she could handle him herself. He fell back and went into hiding, and she lost track of him. This would have been a good opportunity to slip past her and chase down the Rainmaker, but Neub figured his team should be respawning around now and were in a better position to intercept it than he was. Neub decided instead that he would put this pesky roller out of commission.

She ran around flinging her roller and coating the ground, trying to provoke Neub.

"Come on out! I know you're there!"

Neub smiled on the inside.

"Perfect."

Neub leapt from his position and began firing at her, but to her everything was going according to plan. She expected him to attack from behind and she was ready to dodge. Neub's aim was admittedly pathetic. She serpentined towards him and he couldn't manage to get a good lock on her. The Rapid Blaster had a higher firing rate than other blasters, but the shot itself moved through the aim relatively slowly. By the time the blast reached where he was aiming, she had already slithered past. He only barely managed to hit her a single time, but that was all he needed. She was already too close to hit again and ready to squash Neub with a wave of ink from her roller. He immediately drew back and she chased him up a slope. But just when she thought he was cornered, she heard an unusual beeping sound from below her. "Oh no." An Ink Mine exploded right below her. But when the explosion cleared, she was still standing. The fright she felt just a moment ago seemed like a joke. She was startled by the sudden explosion but she remembered that Ink Mines were just a support weapon. They didn't really pack a punch. All it really did was mark her position, and she wasn't planning on running anyway. She took another few steps toward Neub and another beeping alarmed. She thought to herself that this guy must be some kind of idiot.

"What's the point of two mines packed so closely together? To mark her twice?"

She almost laughed out loud, but when it blew, she was gone. The last laugh was Neub's.

While it was true that Ink Mines were intended to just be a support weapon, they still did an amount of damage that most players would disregard. Relative to other sub weapons, the Ink Mines were quite weak. It took a combined damage of exactly 100 to splat an inkling, and a direct hit from an Ink Mine only did 35. Considering the large amount of ink required to use them, a player wouldn't normally use them as an attack. But Neub saw them differently. The Ink Mines were activated by an enemy's presence, so that practically guaranteed a direct hit. A mine isn't known for missing a target after all. To a player that's greatest weakness is his inaccuracy, a weapon that practically always hits its target is like a gift from heaven.

The roller user simply didn't realize how much damage was stacking up on her. The first hit from the blaster did 35 damage. This plus the 70 from the pair of mines made a clean 105. If he could, would simply plant 3 mines in a cluster, even if it took a substantial amount time to prepare, but the limitation was only two. He would need to make up the remaining damage with his own meager level of skill. Meaning if Neub planned properly, he could defeat an opponent by only landing a single indirect hit with the Rapid Blaster, and he felt even he could manage that much. And even if he should fail, he was confident he could count on his team to finish a weakened and marked enemy.

Neub had accomplished what he set out to do. He wasn't afraid to confront an enemy anymore, as long as it was on his terms. But he still had to worry about the other gamble he made. The Rainmaker had made it pretty deep into his territory, but his teammates were able to stop it from reaching the goal and took it for Neub's side. Considering the size of Moray Towers, it'd probably be best if his team dropped the Rainmaker into the water, resetting it back to the center, but it didn't look like they planned to. That meant it was up to Neub to hold the line until they arrived.

He started by setting another double mine trap. By this time, enemies were already incoming. Neub took a high position and prepared to take them on. With his range and height, he could fire without worrying too much about a counterattack, but he was still having trouble. Two enemies were swarming the floor below him and another was on her way. Hitting the walls was bad for the blaster. It prevented the blasts from exploding. Neub already knew that, but firing from above he had another obstacle to contend with. The floor. Neub relied heavily on his shots exploding to hit his targets, and without that he had almost no chance of landing. He thought to himself, he could hit them if he only had a tiny bit more height to keep the blasts off the ground. And he was struck with a sudden epiphany. He could get that extra height extremely easily, without even changing position. All he needed was to jump!

His shots were finally exploding. He struck one enemy with the blast and the foe quickly raced up the slope to attack Neub. Only he ran right into Neub's mines and was sent back to respawn. The other enemy took cover from Neub's constant fire. Normally Neub would have no choice but to drop down to his level to chase him out of cover, but Neub knew he'd be crushed if he lost his advantageous position. So Neub was forced to sit back and allow for reinforcements to come. Or at least, he would have if he hadn't learned a new trick. Neub knew he could attack an enemy behind cover with the blast radius of his attack, but if the cover was too wide, there was no way his blast could reach. Unless he attacked from another angle besides the sides. Neub aimed his gun slightly above where he assumed the enemy was hiding and rained his exploding shots down on him from above. Another one down. Neub was really on a roll.

Finally, Neubs team arrived at his position with the Rainmaker. It was finally time to take the offensive. Neub had to let his team take the lead as he couldn't fire well from the front lines. They collided with two more enemies but Neub's team overpowered them with their numbers. They managed to lose a man, but luckily the Rainmaker was safe. The Rainmaker was a good distraction. Knowing exactly who they were gunning for helped Neub predict where enemies would attack from. He even managed a direct hit here and there.

The team plowed their way forward with Neub holding a short distance behind them. The defense was getting stronger as they got closer to the enemy Spawn. Teammates were being splat more often than before, but they pressed on. They were just a short distance from the goal. A teammate with Splat Dualies forced his way up to it to draw a path for the Rainmaker. He was ambushed after finishing, and was splat. The Rainmaker pushed himself, disregarding fire, to reach the goal, but he was splat as well. They were so close, but the whole enemy team was positioned to retake the Rainmaker. The barrier was reformed and all four enemies took to demolishing it. Neub's remaining teammate understood he had no chance with the barrier with just the two of them and instead targeted the enemy team themselves. He made a decent assault. He charged them with the Splattershot and took down one foe and nearly a second, but the barrier exploded, blowing him away.

Neub was far enough that he wasn't hit, but the goal was so tempting. Against three enemies in superior positions, he had no chance in a fight. The most stable answer here was to hold his position and hope reinforcements could give him the strength to take the Rainmaker before it was taken too far away. But the Rainmaker hadn't been taken yet. It stared Neub right in the face and he took the riskier option. He blasted a line of ink right through the Rainmaker and stole it for himself. He dodged and endured a shower of bullets, very nearly being caught in a trench of the enemies' ink. He leapt for the goal painted in his color, feeling heavy from the enemy strike. In one desperate, almost pathetic crawl, he made his way up the goal. He could have very easily have been struck down if one of the enemies had aimed better, but instead, he muscled through and jumped up to touch down for the win. Complete victory!

Neub slumped over with satisfaction, covered head to toe in ink and sweat. It may have just been a battle between C ranks, but to Neub, the battle felt legendary. After the usual celebration, Neub took a look at his results screen with high expectations. His C+ meter was full of cracks. Just another loss and he'd have lost considerable progress. But with his latest win, the meter was full. Neub had just made his first promotion into B-. One down and only two to go.


	6. Still a Loser

Neub was beaming after finally making it past C rank. He could participate in League battles now if he wanted, but only in Rainmaker. This wasn't good enough just yet. Knight needed him to reach at least B- in every category. Neub decided he wouldn't tell Knight until he had.

Neub wanted to finish up on the remaining two game types right away, but only Rainmaker matches were currently running. It suddenly hit Neub that since he was promoted to B rank, he'd now be fighting with players on a whole different level than before. He was tempted to find out just how much stronger they were. He crept back up to the Lobby and froze. His whole body felt like it was bound together. Somehow he couldn't find the strength to step forward. It felt like he was walking towards a den of fire, and he could already feel it burn.

He smiled and turned around. He told himself that it was best to take a break after a big win. He could always come back some other time. Maybe after he had completely cleared C rank. It made sense to do things in order. Or maybe he would just skip it altogether. He'd look pretty bad if he risked his rank over nothing. His real goal was the League anyway.

He thought of several similar excuses as he made his way home. His face was already sore, but he couldn't smile away the pit of shame welling in his stomach.

The next morning felt sluggish. Neub tried running to the Square, hoping it would light his fire. When he arrived, he learned that the current game running was Splatzones. As he scouted the designated fields, he thought to himself that if he did especially well in the time remaining until they shifted game types, he might make it to B rank that day.

His usual warm-up wasn't going well. He felt like he was missing a lot of shots even though they were imaginary targets. He was so distracted that he walked off the edge into the water all alone. As silly as the mistake was, he didn't feel embarrassed. His mind was still on the B rank match that he cowered away from. The fear was still there, like an ocean pressing on his chest. But there was also something else. Some desperate eagerness, poking through like a needle. Neub wanted the match type to change to Rainmaker again. He wanted the opportunity to redeem himself. But he knew it would be several hours until he'd have the chance. It was such a strange feeling to know you're afraid, to know you would probably fail, but having a second side to yourself calling out to challenge it anyway.

What could he do with this emotion? Neub got a very bold idea. If he could just manage to clear C rank for Splatzones he could try B rank there and wouldn't have to wait. He wasn't certain he'd have the guts to do it this time, but at least he had something to keep his focus forward.

He entered the waiting room and psyched himself up for the battle. There were a few people there before him. They were chatting it up like usual. Neub tried joining groups like them a few times before, but he always came off a little awkward and they ended up ignoring him. They didn't seem to take the matches very seriously. Most of them just came here for fun or to meet new people. Neub wondered if higher ranked players were more focused or if they spent their time doing stretches or something. He thought that'd be kinda cool. He sat quietly trying to put himself in the zone, like he imagined a serious pro might do.

As he concentrated his senses, he started to pick up on something. A voice amid the crowd caught his attention for some reason. It was like he recognized it, but it didn't seem like someone he knew. He hardly knew anyone. It wasn't Knight or any celebrities he knew of, but he had to admit it had a certain celebrity-like quality to it. Why did it seem so familiar? It was disturbing his state of mind, but Neub thought it was best to think nothing of it. Until a certain phrase he spoke triggered a memory, "Take a hint?"

Neub's eyes shot over to the boy who spoke those words and his body went cold. It was him. The same boy that convinced everyone to abandon Neub. His gaze was fixed on him in horror. The boy turned up for a moment and Neub quickly looked away, trying to hide his face in his arms. It seems he didn't realize who Neub really was, but that didn't do much to relieve Neub's tension. Ever since he took up a new identity, Neub had been afraid of what could happen if someone were to recognize him. Everything he'd have done could go to waste. The humiliation of being outed as the biggest loser Inkopolis has ever known was enough to kill him, but that boy made everyone give up on Neub completely. Would it be so hard to do it again?

It was too late to take off, and soon the match began at Starfish Mainstage. Neub felt a wave of relief as he discovered that the cool-looking boy was placed on the opposite side of the field. But he understood that they'd clash eventually if he wasn't careful. He didn't like the idea of simply abandoning the game. He remembered his own fear of being abandoned and didn't think it was fair to do the same to his team. Neub was able to catch the cool boy's name as the players got in position. He registered as "Lazer" and somehow he looked even fresher than the last time he saw him. Neub felt he had to avoid him at whatever cost and maybe he might just get through the match.

Neub was very capable of running away at the first sight of someone, and Lazer's bold clothing made him easy to spot, but Neub was making such an effort to avoid him that he wasn't doing much else. His team was basically fighting with only three members. This didn't sit well with Neub. They fought with everything, but only he held back. But what could he do? Because the objective in Splatzones is to claim the main area in the center of the field, all players were drawn to the same place. There was no way to avoid Lazer and continue fighting. Neub could see that now. The game would end in a complete KO if Neub didn't do something. Neub convinced himself that he probably barely left an impact on Lazer last time. He wouldn't even recognize him. He wasn't just being stupid, he was being selfish. He grit his teeth and launched into battle.

He took a conservative position on a walkway just above the stage. Neub's team charged from the front and Neub struck from the side. Neub broke up the enemy formation and together they took control of the zone. Neub was glad. The Rapid Blaster was great at laying down long lines of ink, so taking the zone was a breeze from a good position. But it was strange. In the chaos he lost track of Lazer. Neub didn't see him get splat. This made him uneasy. Neub thought it was best to retreat rather than linger. But as he backed up he bumped into someone.

"Why are you doing this?"

Neub's pupils dilated and his chest tightened. It was Lazer. Neub wanted to turn around and shoot him down, but instead he found him meekly avoiding eye contact and responding without a fight.

"W-What do you mean?"

Lazer had a look of confidence and condescension. He kept his weapons to his side, with no intention to attack.

"Don't play dumb. I know who you are, Neutral."

"H-How did you know?"

"I'm not an idiot. I knew it was you since I saw you in the Lobby. I can't believe you couldn't just take my friendly advice and stop getting in the way of everyone's good time."

"I-I can be here if I want to be!"

Lazer glared at him in disgust.

"Trying to be a hero now or something. I was gonna let it go that you changed your name and tried to make a fool out of everyone, because I thought you'd make this an easy win, but you had to make things difficult."

"Uh…I…"

Neub couldn't find the words. His mind was a blank. Lazer dug his fingers into Neub's arm.

"This is a warning. Quit being a pest. Stop getting in the way of my fun, or I'll tell everyone who you are and you can have them leave you behind all over again. Change your name and your look as many times as you want and I'll just keep picking you out. I bet it hurts you a lot more than it does me."

Lazer pat Neub on the back and left with a smile on his face. Neub just stood there, empty. An enemy player came by and spotted Neub. Neub was splatted without moving an inch. He returned to the Spawn but just crumbled to the floor instead of moving. His teammates came by every now and then and kicked him out of the way. One boy in particular tried to rouse Neub and get him to follow, but Neub wouldn't respond. Neub put his head in his knees and tried to think of a way out of the situation. He couldn't come up with a thing.

"Is this where it has to end? Does it have to be this pathetic?"

Neub was slowly sinking into a hole of self-pity, but as much as he tried to brood over his situation, one other thing kept rising up. Neub's fists tightened, and his face took the shape of rage.

"What does that guy have against me anyway? Why should my fun matter so much less than his?"

His sad thoughts were flooded out by images of smacking the smug smile off of Lazer's jerk face. Neub stood up and clutched his weapon.

"If this is my last match anyway, I better go enjoy it."

He took off only a moment before a figure from the audience tried to speak to him.

Neub rushed down to the center and specifically sought out Lazer. He was surprised to see Neub coming down the field, but completely stunned to see him driving towards him firing his gun. Lazer took cover.

"Are you kidding me?"

Lazer's teammates tried to get between him and Neub but they had to deal with the rest of Neub's team trying to storm the zone. At first he was afraid, but after he took a peek, Lazer realized it was one of the clumsiest assaults he had ever seen. Neub's shot flew all over the place, hardly ever in the right direction. Neub even got tripped up by enemy ink more than a few times, a mistake he very rarely made. It was clear to Lazer what was happening as he breathed a sigh of relief. Neub wasn't using sense, he was just in a frenzy. Lazer could easily deal with him in this state. He quickly met Neub head on. They were face to face before Neub even realized it. Neub fired at him immediately but Lazer dodged and rolled behind Neub, aiming his dualies at Neub's back. Neub didn't have the time to turn around and had no path to make an escape. But before Lazer could fire, a splash wall seemingly came out of nowhere and defended Neub from the attack. One of Neub's teammates, the same one that tried to rouse him before, had thrown it.

"Get him now!"

Neub didn't waste a moment and pivoted around and blew Lazer away. Unfortunately the momentary distraction cost Neub's teammate and he was splat by another enemy, but Neub speedily avenged him. His head was cooled and he felt refreshed. Not just because he had taken out his frustration on Lazer but because a teammate assisted him. With how often he was shunned, Neub had forgotten for a long time that he had a team to support him. It was a good feeling, but he hadn't forgotten about Lazer's warning.

Back at the enemy Spawn, Lazer was fuming. He had a wicked grin and his right eye was flickering like a hummingbird.

"So that's how it's gonna be, and I was being so kind too. Some people just don't deserve kindness. Heheh. Well, if I'm gonna do this, may as well make a big show of it. Should be a good memory, eh Neutral?!"

Neub's team had taken control of the zone again and were steadily catching up. The rest of the team prepared for the next raid, but Neub only waiting for Lazer to show his face again. He finally came into view with neither of his weapons drawn and both hands raised in the air. The team debated what they should do and tried to get Neub's opinion on the matter, but he said nothing.

They took a look around and realized that Lazer's team was just as confused. He had their attention. Everyone lowered their weapons and allowed him to speak. Neub didn't feel he had the right to interfere.

"Thank you. I know this is sudden but I have something I'd like to tell you. That man, right there, has been deceiving you."

He pointed directly and Neub, but Neub didn't lose his composure.

"Neub is a false name. A horrible one at that. His true identity is the infamous Neutral, the eternal loser."

The few that recognized the name, looked at Neub with confusion and disbelief. But the fact that he made no effort to deny any of this gave the claims credibility.

"I'm sure he's been giving you, his teammates, trouble all through the match. Almost like he's been sabotaging you. He's a menace that spoils the game, for his own team no less. I propose we all work together here and now to help rid the games of him permanently. I know this is asking a lot of you, but since he's already refused my request to quit himself, I'm asking that you quit the match right now. And tell everyone you know to do the same any time they find themselves on the same team as this pest."

Neub wanted to say something like, "Please don't.", "We still have a chance.", or "I've been getting better.", but he couldn't convince himself that they'd listen. But he was wrong. They looked to him, waiting for an answer. He gave nothing and so they felt they had little choice. One girl looked as if she were about to leave when a booming voice rang out.

"Interesting words for someone disrupting a perfectly good game!"

Neub's jaw dropped open, and snapped back closed into a smile.

"Knight?!"

"Hey. Just came to see your match, partner. Looks like you're in a sticky situation."

The other players whispered among themselves, discussing if this Knight was the real deal and commenting that it was amazing that these two were friends. Lazer sensed that he was losing control of the situation, and tried to do something about it.

"I'm just taking responsibility here. If someone's sabotaging matches, one of us has to take charge and take care of them."

Knight leaned against the railing.

"Hmm. It was Lazer, right? You say Neub sabotages matches, but I was watching the last time you were in a match. As I remember, you were a C rank then and Neub was a C-. The screen over here says you're still a C rank."

"Yeah, so?"

"Today, Neub is a C+. There might be something I'm missing here, but doesn't that mean he's a better player than you. Hard to picture him throwing matches unless you've been doing the same."

He actually seemed embarrassed. Neub thought Lazer would never lose his cool. He was stunned for a moment and started to nervously rattle out excuses.

"I-I don't have as many matches as that loser! A-And I haven't been fighting seriously this whole time anyway!"

Knight snickered as he leaned his face on his wrist.

"Is that so?"

Before Lazer could respond, Neub jumped from the stage and stood face to face with him.

"Then let's do it, right now. Fight me with everything you've got!"

Neub wasn't sure why he said this. Even with a higher rank, Neub still felt Lazer was stronger, but only Lazer took a step back.

"L-Like I'm gonna take some LOSER seriously."

Neub took a hard stomp forward and pressed his chest against Lazer's.

"I may still be a loser, but I won't be a wimp anymore! I'm taking you on whether you like it or not!"

Lazer's instincts kicked in and he rolled back in a flash and fired at Neub. Neub didn't expect the attack so soon and was pelted by a few shots, but was able to retreat before he was finished. The rest of the players took this moment as the signal to launch back into action.

Neub found a safe place to recover and checked the time. There wasn't even a minute left. Neub knew he had very little time to wait for an opportunity, but he wanted to settle things with Lazer no matter what. He just had to create the chance himself.

Lazer was playing it uncharacteristically safe. He hid behind his teammates and tried to stay out of sight. Suddenly Neub was standing out in the open, not taking any action. Lazer knew he was only trying to provoke him into a one on one, but Lazer wouldn't have to do a thing as long his teammates took him out instead. Neub would be an easy target without any cover. Lazer's three allies approached Neub from different angles. But as one nearly came within range, he heard a beeping from beneath him, and at the same time 2 bombs fell around Neub. They all exploded at once, blinding Lazer's team. And before they knew it, he was breaking past all three of them. They aimed at his back but he quickly evaded their attacks while barely glancing behind him. His focus was moving forward. They wanted to give chase, but they were quickly assaulted by Neub's team lying in wait. It was a synchronized attack. Neub had gathered his team in secret and asked them to aid him in his attack. He was completely honest in explaining that his goal was personal and wouldn't likely contribute to their victory. They were hesitant to accept his plan because they were currently losing, but the boy that covered Neub before said that he was only here for fun and that Neub's grudge match was the most interesting thing he'd seen all day. Plus, he thought Neub's plan would really catch their opponents off guard. It may just give them the push towards the win. He was all for it, and the other two just went along with it. Fortunately it went off without a hitch, but Neub wasn't finished yet.

Neub jumped onto the stage and dove straight at Lazer and fired, but Lazer quickly rolled out of the way. Neub hated to admit it but Lazer's reflexes were good and he used that technique well. The counterattack was swift, but poorly aimed. Neub avoided major damage. Lazer's rolls made him extremely difficult to hit, but Neub did manage to force him off the stage. The height advantage contributed a lot.. Neub nearly cornered Lazer, but he was suddenly hit from the back. He hadn't realized it but Neub managed to seize control of the zone during his bout, and this meant Lazer's teammates were desperate to take it back, with barely 15 seconds remaining. Neub had no choice but to retreat to higher ground. He nearly had Lazer. His body felt like it was burning with impatience, but there was nothing he could do at this point. Or that was merely what he believed until his helpful teammate yelled out to him.

"Aren't you gonna use it?!"

"Huh?! Use what?"

"Your Special! You've been glowing for a while now!"

"My Special…? What's that?"

Neub had never used a special before, and no one had ever explained to him what it was. He had witnessed other players pull off incredible moves, but he had always assumed they were just especially skillful players.

Taken aback by Neub's clueless expression, his teammate simply screamed at him in urgency.

"Just push the big red button on your tank!"

"Button?"

Neub turned and reached over his shoulder and pressed the shiny red button he had never bothered with before with a click. In an instant, Neub's insides felt like they were exploding and his whole body tingled down to his eyeballs and teeth. Suddenly a giant rig sprouted from his body. It was like some kind of metal track and it was loaded with… splat bombs. Neub thought to himself that he wasn't supposed to have these. Was he cheating? No. It wasn't the time for that. Neub caught an enemy in his sight and hurled a bomb at him. He missed so he hurled some more. Neub couldn't understand why it seemed like they weren't running out. Where was all this ink coming from? He just kept tossing like he had grown addicted to throwing bombs. The ground was carpeted with them. The enemy had already been hit, but Neub couldn't stop himself. He jumped down and caught sight of Lazer and one more enemy, and lobbed more bombs at them. His rolling was useless against such a relentless attack and the two were easily splat. Neub reached for more bombs with a sadistic grin but only grasped at air. The rig was gone and he was beginning to calm down. The match was already over.

Neub's legs gave out and he rested on the ground.

"That was…huff….that was cool."

Neub entered the scoring room with the rest of the players, somewhat amazed to see that he had won. Lazer was there too, but he was keeping his distance. Neub wanted to quickly leave and thank Knight, but instead he was approached by the friendly boy on his team. He introduced himself as "Half". He explained that he had spoken with Knight. He gave Half a message to pass onto Neub and left.

"Nice win. Looks like you're working hard. I'd hate to get left behind. See you when I see you."

Neub had to laugh at the idea of leaving Knight behind.

"He must be busy."

It looked like Half had some words of his own though.

"It's so nuts that you know Knight. Hey…umm."

"What is it?"

"Knight said you're gonna be on a team together."

Neub winced a little in embarrassment.

"That's the plan… I know, he's really out of my-"

"That's freaking incredible!"

Half's eyes were sparkling.

"And you're really gonna shoot for the top and everything?"

"…Uh, yup."

"Well I'll be watching you then. I hope you make it big someday."

Neub scratched his head as Half went on his way. He wondered if he counted as a fan. Seemed unlikely. Neub stared intently at his hand and gripped his arm. The Special. It was such an amazing power. He never felt like the strongest on the field before. He wondered how he would use it from now on.

Neub used the momentum from his last win to push forward through his matches. There were losses but he made to B- in Splatzones with some effort. All that was left was to raise his rank in Tower Control and he could face Knight with pride. But there was an entire hour before the games would change. Neub knew exactly how he wanted to pass the time. After a short break, he returned to the Lobby. He wasn't going to look away from a challenge this time. This was gonna be his B rank debut. Neub had a total of six Splatzones matches, and he lost every single one. He managed to active his Special a few times but here he wasn't able to splat anyone and once he was shot down before he could toss a single bomb.

Neub exited the Lobby, having been thoroughly defeated and gaining a clearer understanding of just how weak he really was. But he didn't keep his head down, because this time he wasn't afraid to be a loser.

Although he was put a little on edge once he eventually remembered another two losses would shoot him back to C rank.

"Maybe a break wouldn't be such a bad idea."


	7. The Stage of Champions

Knight came out to meet Neub at the usual spot in front of Sean's truck. He expected the same conversation about Neub's numerous anxieties, but when he spotted Neub at a table, he had a solemn look to him. Neub's hands were folded with his mouth resting on his thumbs. He looked up briefly at Knight before turning his eyes back downward. Something was obviously off about him.

Knight took a seat next to him.

"Hey buddy. Somethin' the matter?"

Neub closed his eyes and spoke into hands.

"Knight. I have something major to discuss with you."

"I'm listening."

"I... I muh…hic…"

Knight could see the tears pouring from his eyes, as Neub moaned weakly.

He sat back helplessly, wondering if he could comfort Neub somehow.

"Are you gonna be alright?"

"Knight. Let me finish."

"Okay."

"I…I…"

Neub dropped both of his hands onto the table, revealing a big ridiculous smile.

"I made it to B- in all the modes!"

Neub wailed this out with a burst of tears and a drippy nose.

Knight smacked the table in excitement.

"That's great! No, that's amazing!"

"Waah! I promised I wouldn't cry."

"Let's go have a League match, right now!"

Neub instantly quieted down with a blank expression.

"Huh?"

Knight towed a stiff and terrified Neub over to the Lobby. When they reached the doors, Knight tried to push him in, but Neub resisted with all his might. Knight was clearly much stronger, as he didn't strain himself in the slightest as he forced Neub inside with a carefree smile. Neub lost his balance and fell on his face.

Knight reached down to pick him up.

"Ooops. Sorry about that, buddy."

Neub rolled over quickly, flailing his arms wildly.

"Wait wait wait! Shouldn't we make preparations or practice or something?"

"Hmm. Nah, let's just go."

Neub whimpered before speaking.

"You're right. You're right. It's best if we just dive in and get it over with."

"I didn't say that. This'll go a lot smoother if we practice first. But aren't you just itching for a fight?!"

"Huh?!"

Knight dragged Neub across the Lobby floor by the back of his coat and the two finally registered as an official team.

Neub and Knight were warped into their starting point, as Neub stood there jittering like a Richter scale.

Knight tried to hold him steady.

"You ready for this?"

"You're asking now?"

"Nervous?"

"Definitely, but that's nothing new."

"Then let's get out there and steamroll 'em!"

"Uh, ye-"

Neub was interrupted by a startling voice coming from every direction.

"Aaaalrighty, folks. It's your girl, Besty here. Welcome to the League!"

Neub jumped and looked around anxiously.

"Ahh! What was that?!"

Knight shielded his face from the crowds and cameras, slightly embarrassed by Neub's reaction.

"It's just the announcer. They have at least one for every League match."

"Announcer? Are you saying that people are watching us, right now?"

"Well, yeah. We're on TV."

Neub's face flushed red, seeming to be on the verge of passing out.

Knight helped support him for a moment.

"That's not gonna be a problem, is it?"

Neub shook his head around rapidly and struck his forehead on his blaster.

"No way! I got this."

Neub finally steadied himself.

The announcer went on.

"Today's match is a little bit of a special occasion, ladies and gentleman. This match marks the League return of everybody's hero, Knight, as part of the newly formed Team Knight."

Knight looked at Neub crossly.

"Team Knight?"

Neub responded quizzically.

"Yeah. You don't like it? I thought it seemed appropriate, and I couldn't really think of anything else."

"You know we can't change it for a while, don't you?"

"Oh… Er…Sorry."

"It's just… Don't worry about it. It's fine."

Without realizing it, the two has missed the announcer's introduction and the countdown began.

"3! 2! 1!"

The match began and the pair reacted late.

The game was Tower Control and the field was Musselforge Fitness. The other team had already taken control before them but they were no match for Knight. He quickly unleashed his Octobrush and dispatched both opponents without any aid from Neub. It seemed like Knight planned to hold his place on the tower, so Neub set out to cut their enemies off before they returned. He tried to predict their route and set a few mines. He took cover and waited. Instead of staying together, their two opponents separated and Neub could only intercept one. The enemy stepped right into both mines and Neub took him out with one lucky shot. The other foe went to face Knight but was easily defeated a second time.

The match was going well. Knight seemed so strong that Neub hardly thought he needed a teammate, but Neub would still try to do his best to fight alongside him. Neub set more mines in the same spot and waited. This time both enemies came running in Neub's direction. It would be tough, but Neub still felt he could finish them after they were hit by the mines as long as he stayed in his safe spot. But things didn't go as planned. Instead of passing through his mine field, the enemies paused and tossed a bomb in Neub's direction. It didn't reach Neub, but the explosion activated both of his mines prematurely.

Neub came to a terrible realization.

"They blew those mines on purpose. I only hit them once but they already realized the trick. It was too predictable. League players aren't so easy to fool."

Neub knew what was coming next and ran for it. He narrowly dodged an assault from both sides on his hiding place. The enemy team chased Neub briefly, but they quickly changed their focus.

Neub was damaged and in a panic. He had rarely ever been in such an advantageous situation, but they tore through it instantly, and were now converging on the tower.

Neub took another hiding spot near the tower's new position and prepared to offer some cover fire around Knight, but Knight caught sight of the enemies and ran to meet them head on. The fight was taking place outside of the range of Neub's hiding spot. He couldn't assist Knight without jumping out into the fray, which he knew he wasn't prepared to do. The enemies put up a better fight this time, but they were clearly outclassed by Knight. He was an expert at close quarters fighting, quickly strafing around his foes at a dizzying pace and striking them down with a series of skillful strokes.

After the battle, Knight returned to his place on the tower, only barely noticing Neub hiding nearby.

"You hanging in there alright?"

In truth, Neub was beginning to feel like a sad excuse for an ally. He just stood there while Knight took care of everything. And now Knight was trying to reassure him. But he knew that Knight didn't mean anything by it.

"I'm doing okay. Just trying to catch the pace."

Knight nodded at him in approval.

Soon enough the enemy team came once again to force Knight from the tower. This time they attacked from two directions. Like last time, Knight dashed off to meet the first one he spotted head on.

In his head, Neub couldn't help but feel like Knight was just reckless. But it wasn't like he didn't have the skills to back it up. Still, the second was coming to hit Knight from behind while he was distracted. He didn't think he could handle a head to head as easily as Knight, in fact, he was certain he couldn't. Neub had forged a path to B rank by being careful and fighting by never exposing himself to too much danger. But it dawned on him that continuing to fight this way was the same as leaving Knight to fight all alone.

Neub braced himself and jumped out of cover to challenge the enemy player targeting Knight's back. He waited until he was the optimal distance from him before firing his Rapid Blaster. One shot hit indirectly, but the enemy swiftly pivoted around and charged right up to Neub. Neub was practically helpless at this range and he hadn't prepared an escape route. He was splat with ease, and the foe returned to battle Knight.

Somehow Knight sensed him coming and maneuvered around to position both enemies on the same side, and splat both simultaneously.

The announcer sang out praises for Knight.

"This legend lives up to his name! Even outnumbered, he's totally untouchable!"

It really seemed like a one-man show. Knight continued to rack up splats, while Neub didn't accomplish a thing except get splatted himself.

It was strange. Neub recognized that his opponents were stronger than himself, but not by a lot. He really shouldn't be this useless. He was spending far too much time doing nothing. It was like the whole match was taking place somewhere else, but this wasn't normal. Neub tried to understand what the cause could be, but before he could arrive at an answer, the match was already over. They won. Knight took the tower to the goal all by himself.

Knight tried to appear overjoyed for his victory to the cameras, but he could tell that something was upsetting Neub, and it was obvious what it was.

Knight gave Neub a friendly pat on the back.

"Don't worry about it. No one does great in their first League match."

Neub bit at his thumb.

"So you think I did terrible too?"

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. Sorry. I just need to understand what went wrong in there."

"Like I said, it was your first League match. You're not used to it yet, or me."

"Used to you? Hmm."

The pair played 2 more Tower Control matches. Knight struggled a bit with stronger opponents, but they managed to win both matches. But the pattern of Neub barely contributing continued. No matter what he tried, it was always the same. If he protected the objective, he almost never encountered anyone. And when he tried to take the fight to them like Knight, he just got wiped out with barely a struggle. A scary thought was beginning to prick Neub in the back of his mind, but he denied it because they continued to win. But soon that would change.

The current match period had ended. The League would now switch to Rainmaker matches. The match began as normal. As Neub expected, Knight went straight for the Rainmaker. Knight took down both enemies on his own, as usual. The barrier was broken and Knight took hold of the Rainmaker. Neub felt this was a good opportunity to finally work together. Neub was pretty decent at protecting the Rainmaker holder. The Rainmaker made a good distraction. It allowed Neub to easily slip into a good position and made it easy to predict enemy movement because they almost always attacked the Rainmaker first.

Neub set out to lay a good path for Knight to follow to the goal, but was shocked to see Knight had already charged in all alone. Neub didn't even have the time to catch up to him before Knight ran into both the enemies once again. But without his brush, Knight couldn't fend them off. For the first time since they became a team, Knight had been splat.

Neub quickly tried to take the Rainmaker back, but the two enemies were too overwhelming for him alone, and he retreated to safety. But it wasn't over.

Neub sat back and prepared. The enemies took control of Rainmaker and made their way down Moray Towers, but they immediately fell into an inkmine. Neub leapt out from behind a wall, completely unexpected. First he shot down the player guarding the Rainmaker wielder, then the defenseless wielder himself.

Around this time, Knight arrived back on the scene, very impressed by Neub's work.

"See, I knew you could do it. Looks like you finally found your groove."

The Rainmaker reappeared and the pair worked together to break down the barrier. Knight reached out to take it, but Neub stopped him.

"Wait, Knight!"

"Yeah? What's the matter?"

"Would it be alright if I held the Rainmaker?"

Knight smiled.

"Sure, why not? I like my brush better anyways."

"Perfect. Thanks."

Neub took possession of the Rainmaker, and Knight instantly took off in the direction of the goal.

Neub cried out to him.

"Knight, where are you going?!"

"The goal. We're not staying here, are we?"

"Well, no. But don't you think we should slow down?"

"Slow down? What for? The faster we get going, the farther the Rainmaker gets."

"We'll just get taken out if we rush things."

"So what? That's obvious. That's why we gotta go as far as we can before that happens, now come on."

Knight dashed ahead, clearly not awaiting a rebuttal, and Neub feeling he had no other choice, just tried to keep up.

They encountered the enemy team soon after they began their ascent. Knight sped up to reach them, but they circled wide around him and went straight for Neub. Knight had run too far ahead to defend Neub, and so Neub was forced to defend himself. He readied a shot, but before he could fire, he was clobbered by a roller.

Knight was annoyed by his mistake and set out to rectify it. He swiped at his enemies but they narrowly evaded most of his strokes and focused their attacks on the Rainmaker barrier. Knight nearly had one of his foes, but the barrier burst and sent him back to the Spawn.

The announcer got a thrill out of seeing this.

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing! Is Knight finally showing chinks in his armor?! Could Team Knight have finally met its match?!"

After finally recovering, Knight returned to the field, shocked to see what Neub was doing. Neub simply laid down a few mines and took cover.

Knight called out to him.

"What are you doing? We gotta take the Rainmaker back!"

"I'm waiting for them to come to me."

"You're LETTING them climb the tower."

"It's the best way I know to stop them."

"That doesn't make any sense. I'm going down there."

Knight jumped down to face them alone. A suicidal move to most squids, but Knight was an exception. He wiped both of them out on his own and retook the Rainmaker.

Neub watched it all from afar.

"I should've guessed Knight would be able to pull that off."

Neub figured he couldn't allow him to go off alone while carrying the Rainmaker and chased after him.

Knight's strategy hadn't changed at all. He headed straight for the goal as fast as he could. He ran through a narrow path surrounded by enemy ink. Neub tried to cover him as much as possible, but knew that if they were attacked like this, they were toast.

Sure enough, an attack came. They aimed straight for Knight, and Neub tried to cover him. Moving around was difficult, but Knight managed to launch a blast from the Rainmaker that took out one of them. The remaining enemy blew Knight away. To his own grief, Neub was also beaten in a one-on-one fight.

With both Neub and Knight taken out, the enemy team took the Rainmaker and made a mad dash into their side of the field. They ran into a few mines, but with no one around to capitalize on the damage, it ultimately meant nothing.

Neub's big issue with the League was becoming painfully obvious. He and Knight weren't compatible teammates. They were too different. Not just in how they fought or the weapons they used, but their actual goals and overall strategies. The two played less like a team and more like two entirely separate entities. And whenever Neub tried to force himself in Knight's pace, he only failed miserably.

The enemy team continued to make it further and further up Team Knight's tower, but Neub and Knight couldn't make any headway at all. They were sure to lose at this rate.

But it hardly mattered.

This issue was bigger than one match. It affected their entire foundation as a team. Neub understood that it's not that either of them were necessarily wrong. It was just that their viewpoints were extremely disparate. Neub did whatever possible to protect himself, but Knight focused on the kill. It was almost like they were playing a different game altogether. Neub couldn't imagine how they could possibly work as a real team.

When the time limit was up, the score was tallied, and Team Knight had experienced their first loss.

Knight remained optimistic, believing that they would eventually begin to match each other.

"Why we don't just try a couple more matches? It's just a matter of time."

Neub believed their problem was more serious than that, but he still wanted to try whatever they could and didn't want to drive a wedge between them.

"You're probably right. Let's just give it a shot."

Finding a solution wouldn't be easy, if it was even possible. Neub couldn't help but blame himself, realizing that he would be able to match Knight's style if he were only a stronger player. Could he possibly try asking Knight to hold back to match himself? No. That wouldn't be fair Knight, and plus it'd just be a huge waste. Neub imagined Knight was as strong as 10 of him. It wouldn't help anyone to drag him down to Neub's level. And there's no guarantee that he'll even be able to fight well in another style. Neub certainly couldn't.

They fought 8 more Rainmaker matches. They lost 7 times and only won once. Besty was pitying their performance at this point. Neub still had no ideas how they could match each other, or rather how he could match Knight. At this point, even Knight's positivity was beginning to wane. They were getting crushed by average teams. Would they even stand a chance against a team at Knight's level? It didn't seem likely. The harder they tried to work with the other, the more they seemed to clash.

The two took a break together, but somehow it felt awkward, like they were strangers again.

After several minutes, Neub was the first to say something.

"This is… really bad, isn't it?"

"Uh… Yeah. I guess it is."

"But we'll figure something out, right?"

Knight smiled wryly.

"You can count on me."

Neub smiled back uncomfortably, and the two sat in silence.

Both of them thought to themselves, "What am I gonna do?"


	8. The Main Attraction

"Hey everyone! It's your girl, Besty here. Welcome to another afternoon of the League. Today we have special guest, Sheldon joining us. Say "Hi" to the good people Shelly."

"Hel-"

"So anyway! What are your thoughts about the newly formed Team Knight's major losing streak?"

"Well-"

"I agree! It's gotta be that new member, what's-his-face. Talk about a bad luck charm! Let's check in on the match."

Team Knight was locked into the start of another battle against a new foe. Neub was trying to keep up with Knight once again and stayed at his side to the fight the enemy. He felt so vulnerable. All of his instincts told him not to stand out in the open. He wasn't confident he could even manage to slow an enemy down if they came right at him, but Neub had to keep pace with Knight or he wouldn't contribute at all. Neub fought defensively, but Knight always took the battle to the enemy. One way or another, they had to find a way to work together, even if one of them had to step outside of their comfort zone. Lucky for Neub, the enemy team was an odd pair.

Once Knight caught sight of the enemy, he wanted to charge straight in, as usual. But both enemies held out their hands and demanded simultaneously.

"Halt! Before we begin, allow us to introduce ourselves."

Knight nearly fell over stopping himself.

"Oh. Sure. Go ahead…"

They spoke in unison.

"We are Team Z."

The one on the left stepped forward.

"I'm Zee."

The right one introduced himself.

"I'm Zed."

They spoke together.

"So who are we? We are Team Z!"

Knight cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Finished?"

They both smiled.

"We are."

"Great!"

Knight flew over to them in an instant, intent on taking out both at once. But the pair skillfully dodged him by running off in opposite directions. In his moment of hesitation, deciding who to go after, they pelted him from both sides. Knight decided to drive towards the one on the left. He got out of range on the attacker on the right, and actively dodged the shots of his target.

Knight nearly had him, but suddenly two vials of toxic mist were lobbed at him, covering a large area, making it difficult for him to move. He swiped at Zee a few times, but failed to finish him. Zee dashed for the center at the same time as Zed and they switched places. Knight was injured and now he had to deal with a fresh enemy while Zee recovered from his damage. Knight fought hard, but he was overcome by the perfectly coordinated assault.

Knight was splat and it all happened so fast that Neub didn't know when to jump in. Neub thought that if he didn't challenge two players on his own so recklessly, Knight might have fared better, but rebuked himself for thinking so. Neub was the one that failed to back him up. It wasn't Knight that made that made it a two-on-one, it was Neub.

Neub held up his weapon, thinking they'd come for him next, but they didn't.

They were just patting each other on the back like they already won.

"Excellent work, Zed!"

"We took down Knight!"

"Oh, but we better prepare for his next attack."

"You're right as always, Zee."

Neub got angry.

"I'M still here, you know?!"

They both looked at him with a slight smirk.

"Yes, but if you were going to attack, you'd have done it already. Right, Zee?"

"True, true. We did our research, you know?"

"That's right. You're Knight's weak teammate that never does anything."

Neub was red with irritation, but mostly embarrassment.

Zee corrected his partner.

"That isn't true, Zed. He's doing his job, right now."

"Oh?"

"He's distracting us. He's buying Knight time to come up with a plan."

"I have to object to that observation, Zee."

"Oh?"

"This is Knight the Bloody we're talking about here. He doesn't come up with plans. That's why we'll beat him so easily."

"I see. I see. The school boy is just a space filler then."

"Of course. Knight can't be a one man team, after all."

Neub was confused by their chatter.

"Knight the Bloody?"

They both turned to him is disbelief.

"You don't even know your partner's own moniker."

Neub scratched his head.

"Moniker?"

Zed sighed.

"It's a special title for a player. The League officials assign you one."

"That's sounds so cool! What do I have to do to get one?"

Zee gave a wry scowl.

"You don't just fill out a form to receive that honor. You're only granted one once you've proven yourself to be an extraordinary player worthy of a special name. Zed and I don't even have one and we're magnitudes better than you are."

Zed tried to calm Zee down.

"Now, now. He just doesn't know any better. He's clueless."

He turned his attention to Neub.

"Before you get your tiny hopes up, you should know there's never been a B-rank who's ever earned a moniker before. There's barely been any A-ranks. Plus with a partner like Knight, you'll never get anywhere anyway."

Neub questioned.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Earning a moniker is all about standing out. Knight always plows straight into danger. The damage to himself is the least of his concerns. He'll do anything for the kill. That's why they call him Knight the Bloody. With a teammate as flashy as that, how do you expect anyone to notice YOUR efforts? Although, after finally fighting him for ourselves. He really doesn't live up to expectations. He was really quite tepid."

A loud voice suddenly boomed out from behind.

"Oh am I, now?!"

Team Z were suddenly quaking as Knight carved an intimidating figure in the distance.

Zed swallowed and tried to calm himself down.

"We thrashed you once. You cockiness is completely unfounded."

Zee followed his lead.

"That's right. A team is only as strong as its strongest unit. We fight as one and we're stronger than you."

Knight jumped down.

"Oh, really? I'm just getting warmed up."

Knight flew straight at them, just like last time. Once again Team Z split apart in different directions, but this time, Knight expected it and chased down the one on the right as soon as he moved.

Neub decided to do something too. While Knight swiped at Zed, Neub fired at Zee. Most of his shots missed, but it at least got his attention. Zee lobbed a toxic mist at Knight which he instinctively dodged. Failing to assist his partner, Zee turned his attention quickly to Neub. He dashed right up to Neub, Neub fumbled his weapon in panic. Zee took him down in an instant. Zee tried to switch places with Zed, but he was too late and Knight finished him. Knight turned to face Zee, but he was hit with more toxic mist. Zee was able splat Knight due to the damage he took facing Zed. Strangely, instead of standing his ground now that the field was clear, Zee superjumped back to Zed. Team Z was fully committed to their team play.

On Neub's side, Knight returned to the Spawn with Neub waiting for him. Knight briefly glanced at Neub, but then went on his way.

Neub quickly raced to intercept him.

"Knight wait! I know you want to beat them all on your own, but what they said was right. They're stronger than you."

Knight didn't respond and simply stepped past Neub.

Neub clenched his teeth and thought to himself.

"Why won't Knight listen to me? Why does Knight always fight like he's alone? Were those 2 right, and Knight only sees me as a space filler?"

Neub grabbed Knight by the shoulder and turned him around.

"Knight!"

Seeing his face closely, Neub thought he looked tired. Was he pushing himself?

Knight smiled weakly.

"Sorry, looks like I dragged you into a shaky team. I'll get them this time. This team's not a failure. I just need to try a little harder."

Neub loosened his grip on Knight and Knight took off.

Neub knocked his head against his gun.

"I'm such an idiot. Of course, Knight's not just being reckless to show off. He's straining himself to fight for two because I'm not pulling my weight. He's just trying to get this team to work the only way he knows. With effort. He hasn't given up on me yet, and I'm already having doubts about him. I'm the worst."

Neub followed behind Knight, catching up to him rather easily.

"Knight, if I can hold one of them off for maybe a second or two, would that be enough for you to beat them?"

Knight was surprised but he made a confident face.

"Looks like I'll have to."

"Then I'll stop the one on the left with everything I got!"

"Then you can count on me to crush them both!"

Team Z was in the same defensive formation as always, holding together in the center, ready to counter Knight. But this time it was Neub racing straight down the middle, firing wildly. It was unexpected but they reacted by splitting up as usual, almost as if by habit. Both Zee and Zed thought the usual strategy of attacking from opposite sides would easily take care of Neub, but Zed who jumped to the right wasn't expecting to run straight into Knight.

Even though their formation was weakened now that Knight had them on the same side, Zee wasn't ready to quit. Zee responded instantly by changing direction and heading to back up Zed, but his path was cut off by Neub standing directly in his path.

Zee fired at Neub, but Neub dodged the fire quickly. He returned fire, but none of his shots hit. Neub laid down a mine to slow him down, but Zee saw him place it and could easily navigate around it by remembering it's location. Zee tried to circle around, but Neub continued to block him with his body.

Zee was getting annoyed.

"I see. You'll act as a wall to buy Knight time. Did he ask you to play as his pawn this time?"

"I'm fighting to give Knight a chance to beat you."

Zee tossed a vial of toxic mist over Neub's head. It landed directly on Knight, weakening him.

Zee smirked at Neub.

"Don't underestimate our teamwork."

Zee pushed right through Neub, knocking him on his back.

"You'll never be a threat just hiding in Knight's shadow."

Neub picked himself up to try and stop Zee once more, but an idea struck him and he stopped.

Neub muttered to himself.

"In Knight's shadow…"

Zee turned his head, expecting Neub to try something desperate, but Neub was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd he disappear to? Did he run away? How cowardly."

Zee returned to Zed's side. Knight still hadn't defeated him. In fact, it looked like Knight was losing. Zee and Zed slowly separated to make it difficult for Knight to focus on both of them. As if they could read each other's minds, they came up with the same tactic and executed it. Zed moved to the right and started firing at Knight from a distance. Knight weaved through the shots and took minimal damage, but Zed was too far to attack. But while Knight was focused on Zed, Zee crept up to Knight and got ready to shoot him from his blind spot, but just as he got in range, a blast suddenly shot out from just beneath Knight's arm and hit Zee right in the face, knocking his head back. More shots came, but before they could finish him, Zee jumped back.

"What was that attack?"

Zee couldn't understand how Knight managed it. But Knight strangely only seemed to just notice Zee's presence. Zee couldn't comprehend it. The attack looked like it came from Knight, but Knight himself didn't release it.

Zed started yelling.

"Why you!"

And he started shooting at Knight again, but his aim was oddly skewed too far to the right.

Knight responded to the attack by dashing right at Zed, but this time it was Zed that seemed to not notice Knight. Zed was struck a few times before dropping some Toxic Mist and retreating.

But then Zee finally saw it, for just a second. It was Neub, hiding directly behind Knight. The vision was so brief, it was almost like an illusion. And in the next instant, he was gone.

Zed found his way to Zee.

"I thought you took care of him."

Zee stumbled.

"I-I don't even know when he got there."

"He was standing there practically the whole time. You ran straight at him and got shot in the face. How could you not see him aiming at you?"

"I just didn't see him."

Zed grumbled.

"He's standing right… huh?"

They both looked at Knight and he was all alone, staring them down.

Knight whispered.

"Thanks for the backup, but are you okay standing here without cover."

Neub replied.

"I've found the best cover there is. It's big, bulky, mobile, and tougher than a Splash Wall."

"A car?"

"It's you, Knight."

"You're using me as a shield?! Hmm. Good thinking."

"I know, right? From now on, I'm not your teammate anymore."

"What are you saying now?"

"Just think of me as an extra arm. You're the star, here. Use me to pulverize 'em."

"Haha, I don't really get it, but I feel like I've got my second wind."

Zee and Zed jumped back into the fight.

Zee scoffed.

"We get it now. Such a simple trick. The weak one is literally hiding behind the strong one. From certain angles, you're practically invisible. I'd almost call it clever, if it weren't so… What's the word Zed?"

""Pathetic", Zee."

"Indeed. That's the one. It's really too bad that it hardly changes things."

Neub stepped out from behind Knight.

"You think so?"

Zed readied his weapon.

"We'll show you!"

Neub vanished behind Knight again and Team Z charged in. Knight zoomed forward with his brush, and Neub assumedly followed behind.

Just outside of the range of Knight's attacks, Zee and Zed split up. Because Neub was swimming in the ink and using Knight as a wall, they couldn't precisely figure out his location. Knight focused his attention on Zee and tried to strike him down. Zee had the advantage of range, but Knight closed the distance fast.

Zee took a beating, but before he could run Neub closed off both of his escape routes, so he had no choice but to fight Knight directly. To save Zee from being splat, Zed tried to get Knight from behind but he stepped into an inkmine, immediately alerting Knight of the danger. Knight swung around and throttled Zed, splatting him. Zee tried to withdraw back to the Spawn, but Knight smashed him with his brush before he could superjump to safety.

Neub popped out of the ink and jumped into air.

"Aw yeah!"

They finally managed to beat both of them. Sure, Knight was the one to that actually splat the both of them, but Neub was proud that he supported Knight. They were finally working like a team.

On the other end, Team Z were planning. Zee and Zed believed they had found a flaw in Team Knight's new formation.

They returned to the center together. They came speeding at Knight, but this time without separating. Zee and Zed had realized something. Even while he hid in the ink, they could roughly guess where he'd be. He's hiding behind Knight. If they split up, he would either be putting Knight between himself and either Zee or Zed. If Neub swam in the ink, his position would be unclear. But if the two stuck together, he would have to be hiding right behind Knight from their point of view. So they moved to a position just outside of the range of Knight's brush and launched a concentrated attack straight at Knight. With a weaker attack, Knight would just power through it, but with twice the strength, Knight would have no choice but to dodge. That means the attack would fly straight past Knight and into a defenseless Neub. Just like they predicted, Knight dodged, and for half a second they saw Neub, and were sure he'd be hit. But to their utter disbelief, he shifted back behind Knight like a flash of light. They tried a concentrated attack again and again, but no matter how Knight dodged, or in what direction, Neub stayed right behind him.

They figured there must be another trick here, but they couldn't figure it out. Instead, they changed strategies. The target was Neub. They split up and circled around Knight to hit him. They sprayed the floor behind Knight to try and expose Neub, but strangely they couldn't hit him.

Knight was back on the attack and striking at both Zed and Zee while Neub supported him. At every chance they could, they shot at Neub, but he would instantly dash behind Knight avoiding the hit. And they couldn't get too close or they'd be clobbered by that deadly brush. They tried shooting from every angle, but no matter how they aimed or even how Knight himself moved, it was like Neub had this miraculous ability to stay behind him whenever he was threatened.

Finally Zed realized the truth and informed his teammate.

"Zee, I think I've got it. How he keeps avoiding us."

"Hmm, I haven't quite understood the method myself. So what's the answer?"

"He's just fast."

"Huh?"

"He's just fast, Zee."

"That can't be it! He'd have to dodge even faster than Knight if that were the case. Otherwise he'd never be able to stay behind him."

"I know that, Zee. I've been watching him very carefully, but that's the only thing it could be."

"But he's just an amateur!"

Knight came crashing in on their conversation. Zed was splat in seconds. Knight chased Zee down, leaving him no chance to escape with a superjump. With Neub creating a path for Knight, Knight was moving even faster than usual. And Neub's support fire made it difficult for Zee to use range to his advantage.

Knight's blood was rushing.

"Was moving always this easy? I feel like I'm at 200%. Maybe even higher. I'm not being held back by anything. No, it's more like I'm being pushed forward."

Fully charged with power, Neub let loose a shower of bombs at Zee. Zee felt fortunate that he found a path to safely escape the barrage, but he didn't realize that Neub created that trail on purpose and that it led straight into Knight. Knight reeled up and unleashed a powerful stroke, slapping Zee out of the game.

Together Neub and Knight defeated the powerful pair. They were the final victors and there was no time for Team Z to make a comeback.

Knight rested his brush over his shoulder and gave a holler.

"Woo! That felt great. Nice hustle."

Neub sat on the ground to rest.

"That went waay better than I thought it would."

"Hey what do you say we chase those two down and give 'em one more beat down before the times up?"

"Nah. Too tired. Not used to having so many close calls. My heart's beating a bruise on the inside of my chest. I'm just glad we won."

"Hmm… What game were we even playing?"

"You don't rememeber? It was uh… Tower Control! We haven't gotten on the tower at all!"

"How much time is left?!"

"6 seconds!"

"Get movin'!"

"Why me?!"

"You're the fast one!"

"Aaaahaha!"

Besty was screaming up in the announcer's booth alongside a very bored-looking Sheldon.

"It looks like Team Knight has finally remembered the objective and have finally secured a win after a 20 game losing streak. Team Knight wins, with a total tower distance traveled of 2 feet! Amazing! Right Sheldon?!"

"…"

"Spectacular! Thank you for being our special guest today, Shelly. We hope to have you again soon."

"…"

"Good night everyone!"


	9. Encountering a Giant

Neub was parsing through gear at a discount store, under Knight's guidance.

Neub picked out a thick jacket.

"What about this? This looks tough."

Knight examined the tag.

"It doesn't really suit you."

"Really? How about this?"

"Same problem."

"You really think so? Hmm. Where'd you buy your armor?"

"Special order. Why?"

"I know it must be heavy, but I think I could gain something from some extra defense."

"…Uh, Neub?"

"Yeah."

"You know this armor doesn't actually provide any extra protection, right? It's not very heavy and it's more of an aesthetic choice than anything."

"…I know that. I'm not just some dope, you know?"

Neub's inner thoughts indicated otherwise.

"Ahh. I didn't know that."

Before Neub could ask about his next choice, Knight took it from his hands and put it back on the rack.

"To be frank, I don't see why you need to change gear. Your current set suits you perfectly."

"Well, I guess it does look pretty fresh. But I need something to improve my game."

"I wasn't talking about the looks."

"… What else is there?"

"Are you joking right now?"

"...Uhhhh…"

"The abilities, Neub! Your gear is outfitted with the ink saver and ink recovery up abilities. They're the ideal fit for a player like you."

"…Right. Right! I knew that. So uh… why are those good for me again?"

Knight sighed.

"Hmm. You must not have experimented with a lot of abilities. Do you remember our last match?"

"Yes!... Maybe. What about it?"

"I got splat 7 times in that match, you only got taken out twice. Now that's not actually atypical for matches for us. You're a lot better at staying alive than I am. I'm a bit more reckless, and so I use the abilities quick respawn and special saver which minimize the losses from being splat. But your biggest issue should be running out of ink since you almost never leave the battlefield. Ink saver and ink recovery up are abilities for the long haul."

"Oh. Then there's really nothing better?"

"Not necessarily. I'm only giving you my opinion on your play style, but you might want to adjust your equipment based on the situation and field. Or maybe you'll want to change your style entirely. It's something to think about. But hey, even I'd hesitate to switch out a full set of triple rolled gear."

"Triple rolls?"

"I really wish you could explain to me how someone accidently gets a full set of triple rolls, but I'm sure you don't know the answer."

"Uh huh…"

"Just remember that if anyone offers to clean the clothes you're wearing right now, the answer is "No.""

"Do you not… clean your clothes, Knight?"

"…Anyway, why don't we just go play some matches? Standing around in this store is making my shoulders stiff."

"Alright, but I kinda wanted to buy something first."

Knight picked out a pair of shoes and handed them to Neub.

"Try these. I think you'd like 'em."

Neub inspected the label.

"White Kicks?"

"Yeah, this pair has an ability you might like."

"Really? What?"

"Heheh, let's let it be a surprise."

Neub and Knight exited the store and headed for the Lobby, but they were stopped by a huge commotion just outside the doors. There was a massive crowd of people surrounding the building, but it didn't look like any of them were lined up for a battle. Rather it looked like they formed a path for someone to enter.

The pair made their way down this winding aisle and the people gave them room. It was eerie having so many people watch them and whisper to each other as they moved forward. Even Knight seemed a little shaken. Neub could finally see inside the Lobby and he thought he could make out someone sitting right in the middle. This person tilted their head upward and immediately locked eyes with Neub as if no one else was around.

Neub could barely make out the man's face but he seemed to be smiling in anticipation. Neub tried to step closer, but Knight held out his arm and stopped him.

Knight turned Neub around.

"We're leaving, Neub."

"Wha…? Why?"

Before Knight could explain himself, the strange man already had his arm draped over Neub's shoulder.

"Where ya fellas going? I thought you were coming to play a match."

Knight swatted his arm off of Neub.

"We're not playing with you. Let's go, Neub."

But Neub didn't follow after Knight.

"Wait. What's the matter, Knight? Who is he?"

The man answered for himself.

"My name's News. Nice to meetcha. And you are?"

"I'm Neub."

"Ha, that's a weird name. But I guess you must be pretty good if you're Knight's partner."

"Um… well, not really, but-"

Knight forced the two apart.

"That's enough! Neub, I'll tell you who this is. He's a member of the reigning League champions. And we're not playing against him."

News had a friendly look on his face.

"Hey now. Hey now. No need to be so hostile. I just wanted to have a friendly little match with someone. But ever since I came by, no one else would enter the Lobby. I guess my reputation can be a little intimidating."

Knight took a look around.

"I see you're alone. You expect to challenge the two of us by yourself."

"You can invite two more if you'd like."

"This is ridiculous. You're taking us too lightly, and it's too unsporting to fight you by yourself."

Knight was ready to walk away, but Neub stopped him.

"Wait, Knight. Isn't this like a super rare opportunity? We should fight him."

Knight scratched at his head.

"Look Neub, you really don't know what you're getting into."

"No, I do. I'm super scared to fight him, actually. But I can't just let this chance go. I think I can learn a lot from seeing firsthand how the best team plays. Don't you think so?"

"Emmm... Neub, is this really what you want?"

"Definitely. Besides, I don't want to go a WHOLE day without a game."

Knight took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

"Alright News, you're on."

The surrounding crowd erupted into a loud collective, "Woo!"

As a courtesy, News picked the stage and game. The stage was Snapper Canal, and to Knight's aggravation, the game was Rainmaker. Any 2 on 1 match would be a challenge, but Rainmaker was especially difficult because no one would be able to support News as he carried the load.

As hesitant as he was to accept the match, now that he had, Knight had thrown away all of his reluctance and was ready to leap into battle.

Neub followed behind him but instead of offering support, he had a proposition.

"Hey Knight. Is it okay if we don't try to seriously win this match?"

Knight stopped dead in his tracks.

"Neub, what are you saying? I thought you wanted this."

"Well, I do, and I don't exactly want to throw the match or anything. I just want to try a few things that might jeopardize our chances of winning."

"I don't get what you're hinting at, so could you just jump to the point."

"…I want to fight him alone."

"HUH?! You remember who he is, right?"

"Yeah. He's one of the best, and I'm definitely nowhere near as good as him. But we're aiming to beat the best someday, right? So I need to know where I stand right now."

"Mmm. Fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Show 'em what ya got. But I get the next round."

"You got it! Watch me carefully. I want to know what you think later."

Neub zoomed off at an impressive speed. The second he started swimming, he felt something strange. He was moving faster than usual, like he was flying. Could this be the ability that Knight mentioned before? Neub didn't realize an ability could change the way he moved this drastically. His body felt light as a feather. He liked it.

Neub arrived on the scene to find that News hadn't even begun attacking the Rainmaker barrier yet. He was waiting for an enemy. Neub was spotted immediately, and since he had no chance for a sneak attack, he decided to keep running at full speed, hoping a high speed blitz would still catch him off guard. Neub fired a few shot but he shot too early and they all fell short. Fortunately, Neub wasn't counting on them to hit. The attack was meant to blind News temporarily as Neub took a sharp to the right. His real plan was to hit News from the side. But when he jumped up to aim at News, he was surprised to see News was already aiming at him. It was like he already knew where he was. News fired at Neub, but Neub managed to cut away and dodge, but only barely. News was armed with a Splattershot Jr., and so Neub had the advantage of range. Once he was too far for News to hit him, Neub took a few shot at News. He missed, but he forced News off of his perch and away from the Rainmaker. But Neub wasn't ready to go for Rainmaker either. He was sure that as soon as he attacked the barrier, News would pop out with a sneak attack. And so Neub made taking him out his top priority.

Neub placed some mines around and went searching for News as stealthily as possible. He remained in his ink, careful not to make any ripples. He circled the center platform, but couldn't catch a sight of him. There was hardly any of News' ink on the field, and so Neub figured he must simply be on the other side of the platform, circling it at the same speed as Neub. It seemed like an odd coincidence, but before Neub had time to think more carefully about it, one of his Ink Mines was set off and Neub instantly knew News' location. Neub assumed that if he acted quickly, News wouldn't be able to gather himself quickly enough to react to an attack, but he was wrong.

As he rounded the corner, Neub once again found himself staring straight into News' barrel. This time Neub couldn't escape and was shot down.

Knight watched the whole battle with annoyance. News never actually lost track of Neub, he always knew where he was. And he didn't activate the mine on accident, he knew exactly where it was. News used the mine specifically to drive Neub straight into his attack. He was toying with him the entire time. Knight didn't want to interfere with Neub's fight, only hoping he'd figure things out on his own. News had a special skill like many of the best players in the League. He called it his Lock-on. News never took his eyes off of his target. No matter how they moved or even with obstacles in his way. It was one part instinct, two parts tenacity. He was like a painting whose eyes followed you wherever you went. It was an ability that made him inescapable to his targets. A terrible match for Neub who relied heavily on his ability to evade his attackers. But now it was Knight's turn and even News couldn't take him lightly.

Knight sprung straight into the fight. News finally took a serious fighting stance. Knight charged at News, and News tried to keep him at bay with a spray of fire. But Knight didn't mind it. Instead he pushed his way through it, and delivered a serious of furious strikes on News. This forced News to jump back, but he covered himself by releasing a splatbomb in Knight's path. Knight was damaged enough that he couldn't risk moving forward. Knight put his brush to the ground and tried zigzagging around News to attempt to strike his side. As expected, News followed his every move and shot at Knight no matter how he turned. But Knight was able to dodge most of it at a distance. Even though News had a talent for following his opponents, it's wasn't the same as having great aim. He may be constantly honed in on his targets but that didn't mean he had a perfect sense of timing and trajectory. Still, he was a fearsome opponent, nearly impossible to surprise.

Knight knew his only chance was to beat him into the ground before he took too many of News' shots. Knight chased him with fervor, but News was no fool. He played to his strengths and had Knight follow him through various obstacles. Knight may have lost sight of News for only brief moments, but even as he weaved through the platforms, News continually fired on Knight. He'd get a splash of ink on Knight every time he popped out from behind a wall. It was just a small amount that Knight was only barely too slow to dodge, but the damage piled up. Eventually News stopped running and Knight unleashed an all-out attack. But factoring the difference in built up damage, News was the one left standing after the clash.

News wiped the sweat from his brow with satisfaction and moved towards the Rainmaker. He broke its barrier and retrieved it without a hassle.

He looked towards the enemy spawn and saw Knight racing towards him alone. News figured that this meant Neub and Knight had stopped taking turns. It would be a one to one between him and Knight from here on.

News charged up the Rainmaker. Knight was still nowhere near close enough to attack, and so he ducked behind obstacles to make himself harder to hit. But he couldn't escape News' Lock-on. News aimed carefully and lobbed his shot over the walls, confident it would crash right on top of Knight.

The shot exploded but shockingly Knight came bursting out from behind the wall, completely unscathed. News was a bit shaken. It was unusual. News could hardly believe that he may have lost track of Knight somehow. His instincts told him that this was incorrect. He wasn't sure how but somehow Knight dodged the attack faster than normally possible. But this wasn't a major issue. There was plenty of time to aim another shot.

Knight had closed a reasonable distance and decided to risk a headlong rush for News. Knight slid his brush as quickly as possible, but News already had the shot lined up, and the straightforward Knight couldn't be an easier hit.

The Rainmaker was fired and Knight dodged a direct hit, but the explosion would surly take him down.

Or so News had thought. A shot suddenly fired out from behind Knight, creating a narrow path for him to swim through. Knight barely escaped a fatal hit and was pushed forward by the blast. But News noticed another figure knocked away by the blast. It was Neub! Where did he come from? News quickly assessed that he must have been following closely behind Knight the whole time, ready to assist him in a moment's notice. Neub's shadowing was so remarkably clean that even News never picked up on his presence.

News looked forward and Knight was flying at him. If he weren't carrying the Rainmaker, he might have a small chance of fighting Knight off at that distance, but otherwise, the chance was zero. News resigned himself to being splat.

It was over before Neub had even stopped rolling. He hit a wall and rose back to his feet, and reentered formation with Knight. Together they worked on acquiring the Rainmaker. The two smashed the barrier and Neub carried the Rainmaker, figuring Knight would be able to hold

News off while Neub moved the objective.

News had already respawned and was heading straight for Knight. Neub saw this as a good chance, but only seconds after running Knight was already defeated.

Neub's eyes widened with terror. He couldn't fathom how Knight was beaten so quickly. The truth was that News had managed to equip himself with Ink Armor and had a heavy advantage over Knight, but Neub didn't have the opportunity to slow down and think about it. He had to escape, but was it even possible?

News was instantly hot on his trail. Neub couldn't afford to slow down to charge the Rainmaker, so attacking or even making an escape trail wasn't an option. Instead, Neub dove for the ink he and Knight had set before. If he could hide long enough for Knight to return and rescue him, he may have a chance to deliver the Rainmaker to the goal. But of course, against News, hiding wasn't an option. Neub had quickly begun to understand that.

Even carrying his heavy load, Neub managed to stay just a step out of News' range, but as the chase went on, News was systematically covering all of Neub's escape routes. Normally a player would have run out of places to run almost immediately, but Neub miraculously kept himself submerged in his ink without a single error. He leapt over the crossing trails of News' ink and aimed for even the tiniest pools of his own ink, and when there was no floor, he escaped via the walls.

Neub's situation was getting more desperate by the second, and soon he had no place to escape. Nearly the entire field was News' territory. Finally cornered, Neub stopped hard on his heel and faced his foe. News was surprised that Neub was confronting him with such a strong look of resolve. News knew that Neub simply had no choice but to fight in his situation, he simply expected him to be behaving more frantically at this point. Neub charged up the Rainmaker, as News rushed toward him, covering the last of Neub's ink and then aiming for Neub himself.

News thought to himself that it was a good struggle, but Neub's defeat was inevitable. News would easily shoot him down before Neub could gather the energy for even one shot. He figured Neub might let out one half-charged shot before getting splat. It wouldn't mean anything, but at least he would've done everything he could. News admired that sort of thing.

News pelted Neub with fire, but Neub didn't move an inch. There wasn't a hint of desperation in his eyes. Neub wasn't going to fire. But just as News thought Neub would be finished, he heard a strange click.

It was News' own gun. Lost in his focus to trap Neub, he had neglected to watch his own ink supply. He was empty.

The Rainmaker was fully charged and Neub aimed it straight at News, the cannon barrel barely two feet from his face. News never imagined he'd be in this situation, but he had to flee. But before he could get far, Neub had already fired. The massive shot hurtled towards News, and in that brief moment he wondered if Neub had truly planned for this moment all along. Incredible.

Neub's aim was off, whizzing right over News' shoulder and exploding right in front of him. Neub aimed too high. He missed his one shot. News' heart raced in cold disbelief, but he knew what this meant. He quickly refilled his ink and turned his attention towards Neub. With no route to escape and trapped in enemy ink, Neub was easily crushed.

Knight arrived a moment later and the two dueled for the Rainmaker. Knight lost once again. Neub defended the goal with all his might, but he was overwhelmed by News and the Rainmaker was delivered. Team Knight lost to Team News in a KO finish.

Neub and Knight exited the arena feeling the usual frustration of loss. It was difficult to swallow such a complete defeat in a two on one match. Knight gave Neub the typical affirmation, but the two were stopped by News.

News called out to Neub.

"Hey, wait up. It was Neub, right?"

Neub adjusted his hat.

"Uh, yeah. That's right."

"I get the name! I totally get it!"

"Y-You do?"

"Oh yeah! Neub. It's because you're still growing, right? You're amazing, Neub! I'm sure you'll be a fantastic player one day."

Neub smiled bashfully.

"Ehehe. I don't know about that, but I hope I can get a lot better someday."

"You guys did really great today."

"Thanks, but you totally beat us."

"Not at all. The situation was simply in my favor."

"W-What do you mean by that?"

"Knight and I have about the same level of skill, but he specializes in quick unexpected rushes, but my specialty is predicting and tracking. It was a simple type advantage. And you almost got me even though I'm way above your rank. That's really impressive."

Knight stepped in.

"Of course he's good. One day, he and I will rule the top. Wait for it."

News' expression flattened out from enthusiasm to slight condescension.

"I hate to rain on your parade, but… that's just impossible. To reach the top, you'd have to be beat the Champ, and you'll never do that. Especially not with me watching his back."

Neub took a step back.

"The Champ? Is he your partner?"

News laughed.

"Not really. He's our leader."

"Our?"

"Today was fun. But I guess I'll never have a REAL match with you two. Champ and I are part of a 4-man team. You'll never be as great as us. Champ alone is on a level you or anyone else can never reach. I'm sure that at least you know that, Knight. Hmm. I hope that didn't sound too rude. I was only being honest."

News went on his way. Knight stared downward in frustration at receiving such disrespect, but Neub was staring forward. He wasn't watching News. It was more like his eyes were lost, focused on something very far away.


End file.
